Haguroiwa Tomomi, Japanese sumo wrestler, Died at 70

  Sports

Tomojiro Toda was born on June 30, 1946, and died on October 23, 2016.

He was known as Haguroiwa Tomomi.

He was a sumo wrestler from Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan.

Toda made his professional debut in May 1961 and reached the top division in January 1967.

Haguroiwa Tomomi’s highest rank was komusubi.

Tomomi withdrew from active competition in January 1978 and remained in the Japan Sumo Association as an elder under the name Ikazuchi.

Haguroiwa Tomomi reached the mandatory retirement age of 65, and left the Sumo Association in June 2011.

He was remembered for his feat in the March tournament of 1969 when (still competing under his family name of Toda) he ended the 45 bout winning streak of yokozuna Taihō, which was a postwar record at the time.

Which was the first kinboshi of his career.

But, it caused controversy because the bout had initially been awarded to Taihō by the referee before being reversed by the judges, but photographs published in newspapers the next day suggested that Toda had stepped out first and Taihō should have been given the victory after all.

Where this embarrassment led to the Sumo Association introducing instant replay to assist judges in future decisions.

He died of kidney failure.

Haguroiwa Tomomi passed away at 70 years old.