Kyokutenhō Masaru
| Kyokutenhō Masaru | |
|---|---|
| 旭天鵬 勝 | |
 |
|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Nyamjavyn Tsevegnyam September 13, 1974 Nalaikh, Mongolia |
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 154 kg (340 lb; 24.3 st) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Ōshima → Tomozuna |
| Record | 927-944-22 |
| Debut | March, 1992 |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake (July, 2003) |
| Retired | July, 2015 |
| Championships | Makuuchi (1) |
| Special Prizes | Fighting Spirit (7) |
| Gold Stars | 2 Asashōryū Takanohana II |
| * Up to date as of September 3, 2016. | |
Kyokutenhō Masaru (旭天鵬 勝?, born September 13, 1974 as Nyamjavyn Tsevegnyam, Mongolian: Нямжавын Цэвэгням) in Nalaikh, Ulan Bator, Mongolia is a former professional sumo wrestler. He made his debut in March 1992 out of Ōshima stable, with the first group of Mongolians ever to join the sport in Japan, reaching the top makuuchi division in January 1998. In his exceptionally long career he received seven special prizes for Fighting Spirit, and won one yūshō (or tournament), in May 2012 from the maegashira ranks, which made him at 37 the oldest first–time yūshō winner in sumo history, and he was runner-up in one other tournament. His highest rank was sekiwake, which he held on three occasions. He was the first wrestler since the 1950s to be ranked in the top division after the age of 40. He made more appearances in the top division than any other wrestler at 1470, and only Ōshio fought more than his 1870 career bouts. He announced his retirement in July 2015 and declared his intention to stay in sumo as an elder, having acquired Japanese citizenship in 2005. He is now known as Ōshima-oyakata.
In 1991, Tsevegnyam came to Japan with five other Mongolian wrestlers, including Kyokushūzan, joining Ōshima stable. They were the first Mongolians to join professional sumo. In Mongolia he had had little experience of wrestling or judo, concentrating on basketball in junior high school. Six months after they came to Japan, due to cultural difference, language problems, and the extremely harsh training methods used in sumo, Kyokutenhō, Kyokushuzan and three others ran away and sought refuge in the Mongolian embassy, but he was persuaded by Kyokutenzan to return to his stable.
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