Kosei Ko - 高盛 強 (born September 18, 1985) is a former Chinese professional sumo wrestler from Liaoning Province. He made his debut in November 2003 and wrestled for Azumazeki stable. His highest rank was makushita 14 and he retired in January 2017.
Early Life[]
Shiqiang Gao studied at the Liaoning Institute of Physical Education (辽宁体育运动学院) and was also a student athlete. In 2003, Azumazeki Oyakata (ex-sekiwake Takamiyama) personally came to Liaoning to scout for possible recruits. Out of 20 participants, he picked Gao because of his potential. At first, Gao was reluctant to go to Japan, but he changed his mind out of a desire to spare his parents future hardship, motivated by a sense of filial piety.[1]
Career[]
He made his debut in November 2003 under the shikona "Kosei" (高世) which was a combination of his surname and the first character in his given name. He had an impressive debut as he won his first six matches and was gunning for the jonokuchi yusho, but lost his last match to veteran Keno. He was immediately promoted to jonidan and after nine tournaments he earned promotion to the sandanme division. Kosei would spend majority of his career in this division and even though he had a body built for sumo, he struggled to accelerate up the ranks.[2]
He finally earned promotion to makushita in May 2011 and actually performed quite well in his stint; he produced two winning records and was promoted to a career-high makushita 14 in his third makushita tournament. However, in this tournament Kosei pulled out from the tournament on the second day and as a result fell back down to sandanme two tournaments later. He returned to makushita several times, but could not manage to produce another winning record in the division.[2]
Kosei served as the tsukebito, or personal servant, to Takamisakari. Upon his promotion to the makushita division in May 2011, Kosei received a new kimono sash; however, the vendor mistakenly embroidered his shikona as '高盛' instead of the correct '高世'. The character '盛', which also appears in Takamisakari’s shikona, left a lasting impression on him. In July 2014, with the approval of his stablemaster (former maegashira Ushiomaru), he officially adopted the character '盛' into his ring name.[3]
Retirement from Sumo[]
After his sixth promotion back to makushita, Kosei once again produced a losing record and was demoted back down to sandanme in January 2017. During the January 2017 tournament, he produced a 3-4 record and his retirement was announced after the tournament.[2]
Fighting Style[]
Kosei defeats Fukunohana by yorikiri (force out)
Kosei was a yotsu-sumo wrestler who prefers grappling to pushing and thrusting techniques. He won most of his bouts with a straightforward yorikiri, or force out.[4]
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 277-260-9/535 (79 basho)
- Makushita: 25-32-6/56 (9 basho)
- Sandanme: 199-186/385 (55 basho)
- Jonidan: 47-41-3/87 (13 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 6-1/7 (1 basho)
Shikona History[]
- Kosei Ko (2003.11 - 2017.01)
Gallery[]
(c. 2017)