Sōkokurai
| Sōkokurai Eikichi | |
|---|---|
| 蒼国来 栄吉 | |
 |
|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Enhetubuxin January 9, 1984 People's Republic of China, Inner Mongolia |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Weight | 140 kg (310 lb; 22 st) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Arashio |
| Current rank | see below |
| Debut | September, 2003 |
| Highest rank | Maegashira 2 (Mar, 2017) |
| Championships | 1 (Sandanme) 1 (Jonokuchi) |
| Special Prizes | Technique (1) |
| Gold Stars | 1 (Harumafuji) |
| * Up to date as of Mar 26, 2017. | |
Sōkokurai Eikichi (born 9 January 1984 as Enhetubuxin) is a professional sumo wrestler from Inner Mongolia, China. He is the only Chinese national to reach the top makuuchi division. Sōkokurai is of Mongolian descent. He made his professional debut in 2003 and was promoted to the top division in September, 2010. In April 2011 he was ordered to retire by the Japan Sumo Association after being found guilty of involvement in match-fixing. Refusing to do so, he was dismissed. However, in March 2013 his dismissal was nullified by the Tokyo District Court and after the Sumo Association decided not to appeal the decision he reappeared on the banzuke in July 2013 at the Nagoya Basho, ranked as a maegashira #15, the rank he was at when he was expelled. His highest rank to date of maegashira 2 was achieved in March 2017. He has won one special prize for Technique and one gold star for beating a yokozuna.
He was born to a livestock farmer and as a child tended farm animals in a yurt. From the age of seven, he began participating in Mongolian wrestling, and at the age of 16 he won the national championship in this sport. He then joined a national wrestling school where at 84 kilograms he achieved 8th in the national junior rankings. He was scouted in April 2003 by the former Oyutaka, head of Arashio stable, who was visiting China in search of new recruits. He came to Japan as to join this stable in June of the same year, and made his debut in the September tournament.
In the very next tournament in November 2003, he won the jonokuchi championship. However he was forced to sit out the following January 2004 tournament due to a broken arm. He returned in the next tournament and achieved a perfect 7-0 record in the jonidan division, losing the division championship to lower ranked veteran Kenō. He reached the third highest makushita division in one year after his debut. He began to struggle however, and spent the next three moving up and down the ranks of the sandanme and makushita divisions. A relative lightweight, he was often forced out rather easily by his heavier opponents. He had trouble adjusting to Japanese life at first, especially the diet. He was known to put yogurt on his rice to make it more palatable. His fortunes began to take a turn starting in May 2007 where took the sandanme championship. After another year of mediocre performances, which were exacerbated by a duodenal ulcer, he managed a 6-1 record in the July 2008 tournament and vied for the makushita championship in which he was eliminated in a seven-man playoff.
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