Shōdai Naoya
Shōdai Naoya (正代 直也, born November 5, 1991) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Uto, Kumamoto. He is in the Tokitsukaze stable. He is a right hand inside-type wrestler. His highest rank is sekiwake. He has one gold star for defeating a yokozuna and four special prizes for Fighting Spirit. He has been runner-up in two tournaments.
| Shōdai Naoya | |
|---|---|
| 正代 直也 | |
 Shodai in 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Shōdai Naoya November 5, 1991 Uto, Kumamoto, Japan |
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 165 kg (364 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Tokitsukaze |
| University | Tokyo University of Agriculture |
| Current rank | see below |
| Debut | March 2014 |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake (January 2017) |
| Championships | 1 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) 1 (Jonokuchi) |
| Special Prizes | Fighting Spirit (5) |
| Gold Stars | 1 (Harumafuji) |
| * Up to date as of August 2, 2020. | |
Early life and sumo background
Shōdai Naoya’s talents were first noticed by the coach of the Uto Boys Sumo Club while he was playing sumo in the park at Uto Elementary School. In 5th grade he competed in the national sumo competition, and while at Kakujō Middle School he was an alternate member of the winning team at the All-Middle School sumo championship. In his final year at Kumamoto agricultural high school he won the youth national sumo championship.[1]
Shōdai went on to university at Tokyo University of Agriculture, where he studied international food information sciences in the international agricultural development department. He became a university yokozuna in his second year, and met the qualifications to join professional sumo at the makushita 15 rank as a tsukedashi,[2] however he gave preference to finishing school and missed the one year time limit to accept this opportunity. In his third year at university he advanced to the All-Japan sumo championship, however he lost to Endō and therefore did not attain the amateur yokozuna title that year. He also did not qualify for tsukedashi in his 4th year at university.
Career
After graduating from university, he joined the Tokitsukaze stable and entered his first tournament in March 2014. Because he missed his opportunity to start in the makushita ranks as a tsukedashi, he began in maezumo in this tournament. He lost on the 5th day to Shiba,[1] however finishing with a 2–1 record allowed him to continue to the professional ranks. In May when ranked in jonokuchi (the beginning level of professional sumo), he faced Shiba on day 5 and beat him for the first time. He went on to finish with a 7–0 record and take the jonokuchi championship.[3] This propelled him into the next highest level of sumo, jonidan, in the July tournament, where he finished with a 6–1 record, and advanced to the next highest level, sandanme in the September tournament. He faced Shiba again on day 9 and lost, however his 6–1 record was good enough to advance him to the next highest level, makushita in the November tournament. He lost his third and fourth matches in this tournament to Higoarashi and Asatenmai, however still finished with a promising 5–2 record which allowed him to advance higher up the makushita ranks. In the January 2015 tournament he was concerned that diarrhea and a bacterial infection would affect his performance,[4] however he was able to win the tournament with a perfect 7–0 record when he beat Ishiura, who was promoted to jūryō, on the last day.[5] In the next three tournaments in makushita he attained winning records and was promoted to jūryō in the September 2015 tournament.[6] He kept his family name, Shōdai, rather than change his name as most sumo wrestlers do. His stable master commented that, “It’s a good name. Not bad at all.” [7]
Later in a press conference, he made comments that were interpreted as pessimistic, and he was dubbed as a “very negative sumo wrestler.” [8][9] However, he finished his first tournament in jūryō with a strong 11–4 record. In the following tournament he improved his previous performance to 13–2, took the jūryō championship, and was promoted to the highest level of sumo, makuuchi.[10]
In the January tournament he became the 20th wrestler from Kumamoto prefecture to attain the highest rank of sumo since the end of World War II. He also became tied for third fastest wrestler to reach the highest level of sumo since 1958 (excluding tsukedashi) at only 11 tournaments.[11] As opposed to another wrestler, Kagayaki, who also was making his top level debut and earned only a 4–11 record, Shōdai earned an impressive 10–5 record, continued his streak of no losing tournaments, and also took the Fighting Spirit prize. He became number two on the all-time list for fastest attainment of a special prize at 12 tournaments since entering sumo, second only to former Yokozuna Wakanohana, who took the Fighting Spirit prize in his 9th tournament in January 1950.
Shōdai's best result in the top division to date came in November 2016 when he scored eleven wins against four losses from the rank of maegashira 3, sharing the Fighting Spirit prize with Ishiura. He defeated ozeki Kisenosato in this tournament and was promoted to a career-high rank of sekiwake for the January tournament. It took him only 17 tournaments from his professional debut to reach sekiwake, which is the second fastest (after Konishiki's 14) since the introduction of the six tournaments a year system in 1958.[12] He narrowly missed out on a winning record in his sekiwake debut, and remained in the junior sanyaku ranks for the following tournament at komusubi. However, he won only four bouts and was demoted back to the maegashira ranks for the May 2017 tournament. In July, ranked at maegashira 1, he earned his first kinboshi or gold star by defeating yokozuna Harumafuji on Day 2.[13] He remained near the top of the maegashira ranks in his next few tournaments. In November 2019 he was a runner-up to Hakuhō with an 11–4 record and earned the Fighting Spirit Prize by defeating Asanoyama on the final day.[14] In January 2020 he was in contention for the championship until the final day, finishing one win behind surprise winner Tokushoryu on 13-2. He also received the Fighting Spirit prize. [15] He returned to the sekiwake rank in March 2020 for the first time since January 2017, and to sanyaku for the first time since March 2017.[16] He was one of only two men to defeat the tournament winner Hakuhō in March and maintained his sekiwake rank with an 8–7 record. In the July 2020 tournament he won his fifth Fighting Spirit prize after a 11-4 performance in which he was one of only two wrestlers to defeat the tournament winner Terunofuji.[17]
Fighting style
Shōdai is a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling techniques to pushing his opponents. His favoured grip on the mawashi or belt is migi-yotsu, a left hand outside, right hand inside position. His most common winning kimarite is a straightforward yori-kiri or force out.
Career record
| Year in sumo | January Hatsu basho, Tokyo |
March Haru basho, Osaka |
May Natsu basho, Tokyo |
July Nagoya basho, Nagoya |
September Aki basho, Tokyo |
November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | x | (Maezumo) | West Jonokuchi #12 7–0 Champion |
East Jonidan #10 6–1 |
East Sandanme #48 6–1 |
East Makushita #59 5–2 |
| 2015 | West Makushita #37 7–0 Champion |
West Makushita #3 4–3 |
West Makushita #2 4–3 |
East Makushita #1 5–2 |
West Jūryō #12 11–4 |
West Jūryō #5 13–2 Champion |
| 2016 | West Maegashira #12 10–5 F |
West Maegashira #6 9–6 |
East Maegashira #2 6–9 |
East Maegashira #5 9–6 |
West Maegashira #2 7–8 |
West Maegashira #3 11–4 F |
| 2017 | West Sekiwake #1 7–8 |
West Komusubi #1 4–11 |
West Maegashira #5 10–5 |
East Maegashira #1 5–10 ★ |
East Maegashira #5 6–9 |
West Maegashira #7 9–6 |
| 2018 | East Maegashira #4 7–8 |
West Maegashira #4 7–8 |
West Maegashira #4 9–6 |
East Maegashira #1 6–9 |
East Maegashira #3 6–9 |
East Maegashira #4 8–7 |
| 2019 | East Maegashira #3 7–8 |
West Maegashira #3 5–10 |
East Maegashira #7 10–5 |
East Maegashira #3 7–8 |
West Maegashira #4 3–12 |
West Maegashira #10 11–4 F |
| 2020 | West Maegashira #4 13–2 F |
West Sekiwake #1 8–7 |
East Sekiwake #1 Tournament Cancelled 0–0–0 |
West Sekiwake #1 11–4 F |
x | x |
| Record given as win-loss-absent Top Division Champion Top Division Runner-up Retired Lower Divisions Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi(s); P=Playoff(s) | ||||||
See also
References
- ベースボール・マガジン社刊 『相撲』 2014年4月号（春場所総決算号） 107頁
- 伏兵、正代が初の学生横綱 全国学生相撲選手権 Archived 2016-02-01 at the Wayback Machine 福井新聞 2011年11月5日（2015年2月24日閲覧）
- 【夏場所】正代、序ノ口全勝Ｖ「目標は年内に幕下」 Archived 2015-02-24 at the Wayback Machine スポーツ報知 2014年5月23日（2015年2月24日閲覧）
- ベースボール・マガジン社刊 『相撲』 2015年2月号（初場所総決算号） 76頁
- 幕下優勝は元学生横綱の正代 三段目は竜電が制覇 スポニチアネックス 2015年1月23日（2015年2月24日閲覧）
- 東農大出身の正代が新十両 秋場所番付編成会議 日刊スポーツ 2015年7月29日（2015年7月29日閲覧）
- 大相撲秋場所番付編成会議 十両に正代ら４人 Archived 2016-01-26 at Archive.today 毎日新聞2015年7月29日 東京夕刊（2016年1月26日閲覧）
- 正代は超ネガティブ 個性派関取が誕生 日刊スポーツ 2015年7月30日9時35分 紙面から
- 『大相撲ジャーナル』2016年1月号22頁
- 十両は２場所目の正代が初優勝 デイリースポーツonline 2015年11月22日（2015年11月22日閲覧）
- "Shodai, Kagayaki enter New Year Basho with high expectations". Fight Sports. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- "Sumo: Sekiwake debutants add contrast to New Year tourney". The Mainichi. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- "Sumo: Takayasu plows over Ikioi for 1st win as ozeki". The Mainichi. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- "Sumo: Hakuho puts final winning touch on 43rd championship". The Mainichi. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
- "Sumo: Tokushoryu defies odds to claim maiden title at New Year meet". Kyodo News. 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- "2020 March Grand Sumo Tournament Banzuke Topics". Japan Sumo Association. February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- "Sumo: Shodai, Terutsuyoshi stage huge upsets on penultimate day". The Mainichi. 1 August 2020. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020.
- "Sumo reference".
External links
- Shōdai Naoya's official biography (English) at the Grand Sumo Homepage