Yokozuna Terunofuji's retirement on Friday left sumo with no active grand champion for the first time in about 32 years, during which at least one foreign-born wrestler always occupied the exalted rank. Akebono was the first of seven overseas-born wrestlers to scale sumo's pinnacle in March 1993 before being joined by his fellow Hawaiian-born grappler Musashimaru in 1999. The powerful pair locked horns with the popular brothers Takanohana and Wakanohana before the emergence of Mongolian-born wrestlers early in the new millennium.Asashoryu rose to yokozuna in 2003 and won 25 Emperor's Cups,…READ FULL ARTICLE
