A 19-year-old wrestler who fled the war in Ukraine will take a step toward fulfilling his sumo dream next month in Fukuoka.
Aonishiki, real name Danylo Yavhusishin, stepped on the hallowed dohyo at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan for the first time in September in a preliminary bout for unranked wrestlers at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
He is set to debut as a ranked wrestler at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament from Nov. 12 at Fukuoka Kokusai Center in the bottom-tier jonokuchi division.
The 180-centimeter, 120-kilogram youngster, who represented Ukraine in international junior sumo competitions, arrived in Japan in April 2022, two months after Russia invaded his homeland.
He entered the Ajigawa stable in December to train under former sekiwake Aminishiki and aims to follow in his stablemaster's footsteps by becoming a "sekitori" wrestler who competes in one of sumo's top two divisions.
"My master became a sekitori at age 21. I will become sekitori by 22," Aonishiki said, speaking Japanese confidently.
Aonishiki came to Japan with the help of Arata Yamanaka, at the time the captain of the Kansai University sumo club, after the pair became friends at an international tournament.
They lived and trained together until the Ukrainian wrestler joined the stable, where he adopted the full ring name Aonishiki Arata in acknowledgement of his friend.
"Since I have received his name, I want to do my best," he said.
Aonishiki has studied the techniques of wrestlers with physiques similar to his own, such as his stablemaster and former yokozuna Wakanohana, and has displayed an aptitude for fast, head-on attacks.
"You can tell he is earnest and really loves sumo," stablemaster Ajigawa said.
Aonishiki drew inspiration for the November tournament after watching the strong performance of Ukrainian sumo wrestlers at the recent world championships in the western Tokyo city of Tachikawa.
"They're all getting stronger. I have to get even stronger myself," he said.
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