Injury-plagued yokozuna Kakuryu said Thursday he will not compete at the upcoming November Grand Sumo Tournament, the final basho of 2020, citing a lower back complaint.
By skipping the Nov. 8-22 tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, the Mongolia-born sumo grand champion will have missed all or part of a meet for the third straight time and the 18th time in his career.
"In this condition (where I'm not able to wrestle), it's difficult," Kakuryu said.
"What I have to do is get back into top form and get good results next time I compete. I want to pay back my fans for all the support they give me," he said.
The 35-year-old Michinoku stable wrestler withdrew from the July meet with a right elbow injury, sat out the September event with a lower back problem, and the slow recovery impacted his return to training for the final sumo tournament of the year.
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