Ozeki Tochinoshin: “My Heart Stays in Georgia”
Georgian sumo wrestler Tochinoshin (Levan Gorgadze) met his Georgian fans at Caucasus University within the framework of his visit to Georgia.
During the meeting, he answered various questions asked by loyal fans and recalled the most important details of Natsu Basho 2019 such as the injury received at the end of the tournament, the fatal mistake of the referee and the fight against Yokozuna.
Levan Gorgadze also talked about his life as a sumo wrestler, the great success he achieved, and Japan-Georgia relations.
As Tochinoshin claimed, despite the fact that he’s been living in Japan for 14 years already, his heart belongs to Georgia and after finishing sumo career, he wants to return and live in his homeland.
"After the end of my career, I want to live in Georgia. I was born here, I grew up here and moved to Japan for a while, due to my professional duties. I don’t want to live in Japan. I want to live in my homeland, with my family. I want to help my father. I want to be happy here“, he said.
Levan Gorgadze (Tochinoshin) addressed Georgian fans gathered at Caucasus University and thanked them for their great support and love.
“I receive many messages, calls, and letters from my fans online. I love it but am not able to answer them all. I want to apologize and thank each of them for their enormous support. You make me stronger. Your contribution to all my successes is significant”, said Georgian Ozeki.
Tochinoshin will stay in his homeland until the end of the week and then he will return to Japan to start preparing for the Nagoya Basho tournament, which kicks off on July 7 and ends on July 21.
Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi (born Levan Gorgadze) is a professional sumo wrestler from Mtskheta, Georgia. He made his professional debut in March 2006. He reached the top makuuchi division just two years later in May 2008. After a long hiatus due to injury, he began his comeback from the rank of makushita 55 in March 2014, logging four championships in a row in lower divisions on his way back to the top division in November 2014. He has eleven special prizes, six for Fighting Spirit, three for Technique, and two for Outstanding Performance, as well as two kinboshi or gold stars for defeating yokozuna.
In January 2018, he took his first top-division yūshō (championship). In May 2018, after finishing as runner-up with a 13–2 record and a total of 37 wins in his last three tournaments, he was promoted to ōzeki. He was demoted to sekiwake after posting losing records in the first two tournaments of 2019 but returned to ōzeki after winning ten matches at the May 2019 Basho.
By Ana Dumbadze