Danilo Yavhushyshyn fled the war in his native Ukraine to follow his dream of becoming a professional sumo wrestler in Japan and has taken the ancient sport by storm.

The 21-year-old competed in the world junior sumo championships as a teenager but left Ukraine after Russia's February 2022 invasion.

He arrived in Japan two months later and made a blistering start to his career, reaching sumo's upper divisions in only a year and winning promotion to the fourth-highest rank.

He took his bid to win a first title down to the final day of the July tournament and has twice beaten one of sumo's two current grand masters.

Now known as Aonishiki and speaking fluent Japanese, he told reporters in Tokyo on Thursday that he wants to be the first European to reach sumo's highest rank.

"When I join

See Full Page