Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 ⁄2 in) Stable Onoe Debut January, 2007 | Weight 185 kg (408 lb) Current rank see below Name Tenkaiho Takayuki | |
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Born Takayuki Minami
October 14, 1984 (age 39)
Tamana, Kumamoto, Japan ( 1984-10-14 ) Highest rank Maegashira 8 (November, 2012) | ||
Tenkaihō Takayuki (born 14 October 1984 as Takayuki Minami) is a sumo wrestler from Tamana, Kumamoto, Japan. He made his professional debut in January 2007, and reached the top division in January 2012. His highest rank has been maegashira 8. He has taken one sandanme championship.
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Early life and sumo background
Minami began sumo in only his first year of primary school. In middle school he was regular participant in tournaments and came in third place in a Kyūshū wide tournament. In his second year of high school he was in the best eight in a national sumo tournament, and in his third year made the best sixteen in the same national tournament. He continued practicing sumo at Nihon University and was a teammate of later sumo stars Yamamotoyama and Kiyoseumi. Upon graduation he chose to join Onoe stable which was led by former Hamanoshima who went to the same high school and university as Minami had. He also became stablemates with future ōzeki Baruto.
Career
Minami started his professional career with a consistent string of successes, only losing a few bouts in his first several tournaments and winning the sandanme division championship from the low rank of sandanme 92 with a 7-0 record and a playoff win over veteran Kihonoumi. He rose slowly but consistently through the ranks, recording mostly winning records over the next three years. In the November 2010 tournament he had a breakout performance, losing only to future maegashira Yoshiazuma. In a playoff for the makushita division championship, he lost to future sekiwake Myōgiryū. He again continued to rise slowly but consistently through the ranks, achieving second division jūryō promotion for the July 2011 tournament. Upon promotion to the second division he took the ring name of Tenkaihō. It took him only three winning tournaments in the remainder of 2011 to gain promotion to the top division. After battling for three tournaments in the top tier makuuchi he was relegated back to the second division. He has managed to be re-promoted three times since then, but has soon been demoted again, and is more of a jūryō regular than a makuuchi performer. He was demoted to the makushita division after the May 2016 tournament, scoring only 4–11 at Jūryō 14.
Fighting style
Tenkaihō is a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling techniques to pushing and thrusting. His favoured grip on his opponent's mawashi or belt is migi-yotsu, a left hand outside, right hand inside position. His most common winning kimarite is a straightforward yori-kiri or force out, which accounts for about half of his career victories.
Personal life
He registered his marriage in September 2015, to a care worker from Anjo, Aichi. Their wedding reception will be held in June 2016.