Grand champion sumo wrestler Harumafuji was involved in drunken brawl late last month that left fellow Mongolian competitor Takanoiwa hospitalized with serious injuries, his stablemaster admitted to sumo administrators on Tuesday.

According to a report in the tabloid Sponichi, Harumafuji was drinking with other Mongolian wrestlers on 26 October after a regional tour in Tottori when the yokozuna, angered by Takanoiwa’s attitude, struck him with a beer bottle.

On Tuesday morning, Harumafuji, a nine-time tournament winner, was reluctant to address the report but later submitted paperwork to pull out of the ongoing Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, ending his current bid for a 10th career title.

The Japan Sumo Association announced Monday that eighth-ranked Maegashira Takanoiwa has been diagnosed with concussion and a skull base fracture among other injuries, and revealed that he had been hospitalised from 5-9 November.

Takanoiwa, aged 27, was one of the early withdrawals from the November 12-26 tournament. He is expected to miss the entire meet and be demoted to the lower juryo rank at the meet in January.