Asashōryū Akinori

Asashōryū Akinori (朝青龍 明徳), born as Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj (Долгорсүрэн Дагвадорж) on September 27, 1980 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is the first Mongolian sumo wrestler to reach the rank of yokozuna. As of January 2004, he is also the only active yokozuna.

Unlike his Hawaiian predecessors Akebono and Musashimaru, Asashoryu is a relative lightweight at 137 kilograms, less than 20 kilograms below the average. Instead, he has successfully relied on speed and technique to compete. After his debut in 1999, it took Asashoryu only 24 tournaments to win his first championship, the fastest ascent since the sport adopted its current format of six champsionships a year in 1958.

On January 30, 2003 Asashoryu was granted the title of yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo. While his first championship as yokozuna ended in a disappointing 10-5 record, he came back to win 6 successsive tournaments, culminating in perfect 15-0 wins (zensho yusho) in the first two tournaments of 2004.

Asashoryu has been criticized for infractions of the strict code of conduct expected of top sumo wrestlers. His transgressions include becoming the first yokozuna in history to be disqualified in a match (for pulling an opponent's hair), being photographed in a suit (instead of a traditional Japanese costume) and refusing to adopt Japanese citizenship.