Newly crowned Spring Grand Sumo Tournament champion Takerufuji said Monday that a flood of well wishes from friends and family brought home the reality of his historic victory at Edion Arena Osaka.
The bottom-ranked No. 17 maegashira on Sunday became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a championship in his top-division debut, finishing the 15-day tournament with a 13-2 record.
"While being contacted by so many different people, I realized I really did win," Takerufuji said at a press conference in Osaka.
The 24-year-old from Aomori Prefecture, whose real name is Mikiya Ishioka, needed to dig deep in his final match after badly hurting his ankle the previous day in a loss to former ozeki Asanoyama.
A loss to No. 6 maegashira Gonoyama on Day 15 would have opened the door for another rising star, fifth-ranked Onosato, to tie Takerufuji's win-loss record and force a championship playoff.
The overnight leader made no mistake, however, pushing down Gonoyama to complete a title run that included battles with several opponents from the distinguished "sanyaku" ranks below yokozuna.
"I wanted to win the championship with my own hands. I'm glad I was able to complete all 15 days," Takerufuji said.
The wrestler from the Isegahama stable said he thought about sitting out the final day because of the severe pain in his ankle, but persevered with encouragement from his senior stablemate, yokozuna Terunofuji.
"He told me, 'you can do it,'" said Takerufuji, who showed no sign of the injury in the decisive bout.
"My body moved instinctively, I wasn't even conscious of it."
Takerufuji's 11 straight wins from the opening day in Osaka tied legendary yokozuna Taiho's record, set in January 1960, for the most consecutive victories at the start of a top-division debut.
His progress from professional debutant to Emperor's Cup winner, in his 10th grand tournament, was also the fastest in the modern era of six annual meets.
The previous wrestler to win a championship on debut in the elite makuuchi division was Ryogoku in 1914.
Related coverage:
Sumo: Top-division debutant Takerufuji wins historic championship
Sumo: Asanoyama pauses rookie Takerufuji's historic title tilt
Sumo: Ozeki Takakeisho pulls out of Osaka meet with chest injury
