Aozora Daichi

Aozora Daichi - 碧天大市 (born August 26, 1983) is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Osaka City, Osaka. He made his debut in March 2006 and last wrestled for Kasugano stable. His highest rank was makushita 6 and he retired in May 2023.

Early Life[]

Daichi Ikehara attended Osaka Shiritsu Kobayashi Elementary School in Osaka City's Taisho Ward. During his fourth year at the school, Ikehara began practicing sumo and participated at the National Wanpaku Sumo Tournament. He then attended Taisho Chuo Junior High School where he continued to practice sumo whilst being a member of the track and field club. After junior high school, he attended Kinki University Senior High School and was a member of the school's strong sumo club. Upon graduating high school, he enrolled at Asahi University, a small private university in Gifu Prefecture, where he was an active member of the school's sumo club.^[1]

Career[]

After graduating from Asahi University, Ikehara joined Tagonoura stable and made his professional debut in March 2006 alongside Tochinoshin, Shohozan and Sakaizawa. He started out well posting three consecutive 6-1 records, but struggled a bit during his time in sandanme. He was given the shikona "Aozora" (碧天) in September 2007 and was promoted to makushita for the following November 2007 tournament.^[2]

Aozora won the sandanme yusho in January 2009 with a perfect 7-0 record. He later won his second sandanme yusho in November 2010. On February 13, 2012, his stablemaster, former maegashira Kushimaumi, passed away which led to the closure of his stable. He subsequently transferred to Kasugano stable.^[3] Aozora reached a career-best rank of makushita 6 in September 2015, but he finished with a poor 1-6 record.^[2]

Retirement from Sumo[]

Aozora spent the majority of his later career in the lower makushita and upper sandanme ranks.^[2] He retired from sumo in May 2023 after nearing 40 years of age. He had his retirement ceremony, or danpatsu-shiki, a week after the end of the May 2023 tournament in his stable and he plans to look for a job in his hometown of Osaka.^[4]

Family[]

Aozora comes from a boxing family. His father, Masahide Ikehara, is former professional boxer and chairman of the ABC Boxing Gym. His cousin, Kumiko Ikehara, was also a professional boxer and is a former WBO female minimum-weight champion.^[1]

Fighting Style[]

Aozora is proficient in both yotsu-sumo (grappling) and oshi-sumo (pushing and thrusting) techniques. His favored grip on his opponent's mawashi is morozashi, or double hand inside position. His most often used winning kimarite are yorikiri (force out), oshidashi (push out) and tsukiotoshi (thrust down).^[5]