Sumo wrestler Nicholas Tarasenko, 15, gets rare chance to break into professional ranks after winning amateur tournaments and learning Japanese
A teenager from Hull has arrived in Japan to pursue his dream of becoming a grand champion sumo wrestler, as only the second Briton to win a place at one of the ancient sport’s professional stables.
Nicholas Tarasenko, 15, left Yorkshire for Japan straight after finishing his GCSEs, to become the first British hopeful to join a stable since Nathan Strange – a Londoner who fought under the ring name Hidenokuni – in 1989.
Tarasenko, who is 187cm tall, was given the rare opportunity to break into the Japanese sport’s professional ranks after winning amateur tournaments and demonstrating a commitment to learning Japanese – a requirement if his trial period at the Minato stable near Tokyo is to turn into a professional career.
Tarasenko was invited back after reportedly impressing the stable when he trained there last year, and now is on the brink of what some experts believe could be the start of a successful life as a full-time rikishi, or wrestler, with his sights set firmly on reaching yokozuna grand champion status.
