Oshoma Degi

Oshoma Degi - 欧勝馬出気 (born April 9, 1997) is a Mongolian professional sumo wrestler from Tov Province. He made his debut in September 2021 and currently wrestles for Naruto stable. He reached the makuuchi division in May 2024 and has 1 special prize. His highest rank as of 2025 is maegashira 4.

Early Life[]

Delgerbayar was born among the nomadic populations of Mongolia. As a child, he grew up riding horses and taking care of sheep.^[1] Delgerbayar began wrestling at the age of 14 and at the age of 16, with the help of Yokozuna Asashoryu, he came in Japan at Kashiwa High School in Chiba prefecture along Hoshoryu and Asahakuryu.^[2] There, he won the National High School Championships.^[1]

Oshoma-uni-title — Delgerbayar wins the title of student yokozuna (c. 2020)

He then enrolled at Nippon Sport Science University and joined the university's sumo club. Between his second and third year, he won multiple tournaments which include the National University Championships in Towada and the National Student Championships (open-weight division); the National University Championships in Usa, the All-Japan University Championships and the National Student Championships in Kanazawa. In his fourth year, he became "student yokozuna" at the National Student Championships in Towada.^[2] That last championship granted him the makushita tsukedashi status. Upon graduation from college he decided to turn pro and joined Naruto stable because its master, former ozeki Kotooshu, mentored him since his college days^[1] as training at a sumo stable is mandatory for foreign-born wrestlers to undergo the new apprentice examination.^[3]

Career[]

Early Career[]

He made his professional debut in September 2021 and was given the shikona, or ring name, "Oshoma" (欧勝馬) to evoke both his master (with the kanji 欧, meaning "Europe"), his hopes for success (with the kanji 勝 meaning "victory") and his nomadic past (with the kanji 馬, meaning "horse").^[1] His shikona first name "Degi" (出喜) was chosen with the kanji for 'move away' (出) as it is phonetically reminiscent of part of his original first name: Delgerbayar.^[4]

His makushita tsukedashi allowed him to make his debut at the rank of makushita 15. Oshoma however had to leave his stable as he lost his father in August 2021. Subsequently, and despite being officially listed as a wrestler, Oshoma was granted a reprieve to attend his father's funeral and was listed as banzuke-gai in September 2021.^[1] Oshoma shared the same recruit examination session as Kinbozan, who began his career with the sandanme tsukedashi system. In May 2022, Oshoma won the makushita championship with a prefect 7–0 record at the rank of makushita 8 with a win on Kitaharima on the last day. He was promoted to juryo for the following July 2022 tournament, thus becoming the first sekitori raised by Kotooshu.^[1]

Juryo Career[]

During his juryo debut Oshoma had to withdraw from Day 8 of the July 2022 tournament after a COVID outbreak at Naruto stable and in September he broke his thumb during his first match.^[5] In November 2022, during his third tournament in juryo, Oshoma defeated Daiamami in a playoff on the final day to claim the juryo championship. In December of the same year, he injured his shoulders during a training session. He subsequently performed poorly for half of 2023, citing recurrences of pain as a factor in his lack of performance.^[6] During his training, he often asked for advice from upper-division wrestler and makuuchi veteran Tamawashi, who is also from Mongolia.^[6]

In preparation for the September 2023 tournament, he changed the spelling of his shikona first name from 出喜 to 出気, with the same pronunciation, to use the kanji meaning 'energy' (気) to ward off his recent injuries which were penalizing him in his wrestling.^[4]

During the March 2024 tournament, Oshoma (then at the rank of juryo 4) recorded a tenth victory over Asakoryu on Day 14, creating speculation in the press about a potential promotion to sumo's top division for the first time.^[7]

Makuuchi Career[]

Oshoma's promotion to makuuchi was made official with the unveiling of the May 2024 tournament banzuke. At the press conference at his stable, Oshoma expressed his regret at having taken 2 years to reach this level of competition after a professional debut marked by injuries.^[8] His promotion to makuuchi, however, makes Oshoma the twenty-ninth Mongolian wrestler to reach the division for the first time, the latest being Mitoryu in 2022.^[9] In his top-division debut, Oshoma finished with a strong 10-5 record, earning the Fighting Spirit Prize.

Personal Life[]

Oshoma has been married since December 2024 to an air hostess from Aichi prefecture, after a one-and-a-half-year relationship.^[10] In February 2025, he revealed that he was the father of a daughter born on January 9 of the same year.^[11]
Oshoma's hobbies are training and playing games, his favorite food is meat, and his favorite genre of movies are action movies.^[12]

Fighting Style[]

Oshoma's favored techniques are listed at the Sumo Association as oshi (pushing) and inashi (ducking and moving diagonally back from the opponent).^[12] His most common winning kimarite is hatakikomi, or slap down.^[13]