Ikioi Shota
| Ikioi Shōta | |
|---|---|
| 勢 翔太 | |
 |
|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Shōta Toguchi October 11, 1986 Katano, Osaka, Japan |
| Height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) |
| Weight | 167 kg (368 lb; 26.3 st) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Isenoumi |
| Current rank | see below |
| Debut | March, 2005 |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake (May, 2016) |
| Championships | 1 (Jūryō) |
| Special Prizes | 4 (Fighting Spirit) |
| Gold Stars | 3 (Hakuhō 2), (Kakuryū 1) |
| * Up to date as of Mar 15, 2017. | |
Ikioi Shōta (勢 翔太?) (born 11 October 1986 as Shōta Toguchi) is a professional sumo wrestler from Katano, Osaka, Japan. He began his career in March 2005. He won the jūryō championship in November 2011 in his very first tournament in the division and just two tournaments later made his makuuchi division debut. He was runner up to Jōkōryū in the jūryō division in September 2012. His highest rank has been sekiwake.
From his preschool years Toguchi was enrolled at a local sumo dōjō, coincidentally the future Gōeidō was also enrolled there at this time. In 1996 as a primary school fourth grader, he came in runner up at a national children's sumo tournament. After junior high school, he attempted to enter Hōtoku Gakuen high school which had a strong sumo team, but when he failed he decided to take a break from sumo and worked at his parents' sushi restaurant for three years while continuing to stay in shape.
Acceding to his mother's wishes, at eighteen he joined Isenoumi stable and first entered the ring in March 2005. He took the shikona or ring name of Ikioi from his first pro tournament. In his second tournament in July 2005 in the jonidan division he achieved a perfect record, but lost his second bout in a three-way playoff for the championship to the future Daidō. In September 2006 while competing in the makushita division he was punched in the face in the dressing room after a bout with forty-year-old Kotokanyu, who apparently objected to being slapped around the face (a legitimate tactic known as harite) by someone over twenty years his junior. Kotokanyu was told to retire immediately afterwards. Over the next five years, Ikioi managed to work his way slowly up the ranks until he was finally awarded promotion to the salaried jūryō division after a 5-2 record at makushita 3 in September 2011. In contrast to his slow progress previously, Ikioi found unprecedented success in the jūryō second division. He had only one loss in the first thirteen days of his jūryō debut, and even though he lost his last two bouts he still managed to win the tournament. His 10-5 record in the following January 2012 tournament earned him promotion to the makuuchi top division.
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