The ascension of veteran Mitakeumi to the rank of ozeki and Abi to sekiwake in Monday's latest Japan Sumo Association rankings put the spotlight on the two wrestlers' perseverance.
Mitakeumi, a hot prospect out of university, rose rapidly to the three "sanyaku" ranks below yokozuna, but needed 28 tournaments as a komusubi or sekiwake before his third grand tournament championship in January put him over the top and earned him promotion to ozeki.
Abi, meanwhile, had one foot out of the sumo world in August 2020, when he offered to resign after it was revealed he repeatedly violated coronavirus protocols the previous month. Instead, he served a three-tournament suspension that forced him to restart his career from the third-tier makushita division.
Mitakeumi's 28 tourneys as a sanyaku wrestler before ozeki promotion are fourth most in history and four short of the record 32 set by former ozeki Kaio in 2000. At 29 years, one month, Mitakeumi will be the sixth oldest wrestler to make his debut at sumo's second-highest rank.
He is also the first wrestler from Nagano Prefecture to achieve that rank since 1795.
Abi's suspension lit the same fire under him that once saw him run off one solid tourney after another and propelled him to komusubi in July 2019. But after losing 10 makuuchi-division bouts for the first time in January 2020, he began to slide, until he pulled out of the July tourney when his infractions became known.
In March 2021, he returned to action as a No. 56 makushita. Unbeaten in two seven-bout tourneys in that division, he earned re-promotion to the makuuchi division after going 24-6 in two campaigns as a second-tier juryo wrestler.
And after back-to-back 12-win tourneys, Abi is once more back on track in a new look sanyaku class.
Abi, who made the huge jump from No. 6 maegashira to sekiwake, is joined at the sport's third-highest rank by another newcomer, 27-year-old dynamo Wakatakakage, who went 9-6 as a No. 1 in January.
The komusubi rank is filled by Takanosho, who went 7-8 as a sekiwake last time, and Hoshoryu, the 22-year-old nephew of former Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu.
Terunofuji remains at the top of the rankings. Sumo's lone yokozuna's surgically repaired knees troubled him in January, when he went 11-4 and saw his two-tourney win streak snapped by Mitakeumi.
The two incumbent ozeki, Shodai and Takakeisho, each failed to win eight bouts in January, making them "kadoban" ozeki who will need eight wins in March to avoid demotion to sekiwake.
At the other end of sumo's top division, Kotokuzan will be making his makuuchi debut as a No. 16 maegashira after going 10-5 as a No. 4 juryo in January, and will be joined by three veterans earning re-promotion, No. 14 Kotoshoho, No. 16 Nishikigi, and No. 17 Kagayaki.
