A teenager from Hull has arrived in Japan to pursue his dream of becoming a grand champion sumo wrestler, as only the second Briton to win a place at one of the ancient sport鈥檚 professional stables.
Nicholas Tarasenko, 15, left Yorkshire for Japan straight after finishing his GCSEs, to become the first British hopeful to join a stable since Nathan Strange 鈥 a Londoner who fought under the ring name Hidenokuni 鈥 in 1989.
Tarasenko, who is 187cm tall, was given the rare opportunity to break into the Japanese sport鈥檚 professional ranks after winning amateur tournaments and demonstrating a commitment to learning Japanese 鈥 a requirement if his trial period at the Minato stable near Tokyo is to turn into a professional career.
Tarasenko was invited back after reportedly impressing the stable when he trained there last year, and now is on the brink of what some experts believe could be the start of a successful life as a full-time rikishi, or wrestler, with his sights set firmly on reaching yokozuna grand champion status.
Despite his youth, Tarasenko鈥檚 physique and years spent practising judo and playing rugby helped him win under-18 gold in the 90kg weight class at an amateur tournament in Estonia 鈥 his father鈥檚 country of birth 鈥 in 2023, after just an hour of formal sumo training, according to the Japan Times.
His father, Georgi Zilkin, said he was confident his son would thrive in Japan and quickly become part of the sumo family. 鈥淭hey [the stablemaster and his wife] are considered his parents from the moment he enters the club,鈥 Zilkin told Hull Live, adding that Tarasenko had been selected for his 鈥渞aw ability鈥 and work ethic.
鈥淗e was learning Japanese every day at 5am, waking up in the morning because of the time difference to speak to his tutor online,鈥 he said.
Tarasenko鈥檚 feat is all the more impressive given that sumo鈥檚 45 stables have been limited to one foreign wrestler each since 2002, although that did not prevent the sport鈥檚 recent domination by Mongolian-born wrestlers, decades after Hawaiian rikishi first penetrated sumo鈥檚 famously conservative culture.
The Minato stable, based in Saitama prefecture, confirmed that Tarasenko had been accepted as a trainee, adding that he could make his professional debut at the spring basho, or major tournament, in Osaka in March next year provided he passes his Japanese exams.
Tarasenko will be expected to perform cooking and other duties and live alongside his fellow wrestlers as he adjusts to regimented stable life. He will also have to fit his Japanese studies around early-morning training sessions and twice-daily meals of chanko nabe 鈥 a protein-rich hotpot 鈥 to help him gain weight. The crewcut he sported during his amateur career will eventually give way to a chonmage top-knot.
鈥淗e will have to adjust to lots of things, such as diet and lifestyle, but he鈥檚 an earnest and honest boy, and his Japanese ability has improved considerably, so we are not particularly worried about him settling in,鈥 a Minato stable spokesperson told the Guardian.
鈥淗e has already made friends with the other wrestlers and gets plenty of support from the people around him. We hope he鈥檒l continue to work hard at his sumo and live up to everyone鈥檚 expectations.鈥