Takerufuji became the first sumo wrestler in 110 years to win the top-division tournament on debut on Sunday, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day.

The 24-year-old from northern Japan, who only entered professional sumo in late 2022, shoved out his opponent Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor's Cup.