A Japanese sumo wrestler has died in hospital after falling violently during a fight during the last tournament of the Japanese sport, causing shock waves and calls for better medical supervision.
Mitsuki Amano, 28, who fought as Hibikiryu, died of acute respiratory failure in a Tokyo hospital on Wednesday, the Japanese Sumo Association (AJS) said on Thursday.
“May his soul rest in peace,” said the president of this body which governs Japanese discipline in a statement, expressing the “sincere gratitude” of the AJS for the “contribution” of Mr. Amano to sumo.
The wrestler, playing in the fourth division of six in professional sumo, fell on his head after being thrown to the ground by his opponent in a fight on March 26.
Images which have been widely circulated on the internet then show him lying motionless, face down, on the clay platform covered with sand (“dohyo”) where the fighting takes place.
The long hesitation of those around the dohyo before Hibikiryu ended up receiving medical treatment from a professional several minutes later shocked spectators and internet users.
The wrestler, weighing 147 kg according to the AJS, had in the meantime been turned over on his back by “yobidashi”, responsible in particular for calling the names of the wrestlers at the start of the fights, a maneuver which should have been carried out by professionals to prevent spinal injury, according to medical experts.
Aware after the shock
Hibikiryu was conscious when he was taken on a stretcher to an ambulance before being hospitalized, according to the Sankei daily.
The existence of a “possible cause and effect link between the wrestler’s death and his injury is not clear at this stage,” an AJS spokesperson told AFP, adding that a any announcement on the improvement of emergency medical procedures would not intervene before “a formal decision” on this subject.
Doctors are present in the Kokugikan, where the tournaments are held in Tokyo, but do not stand on the edge of the dohyo during the fights, and it is customary to wait for fallen wrestlers to get up from them. same.
Hibikiryu’s death sparked criticism online and in the media over sumo procedures, which the AJS is considering changing according to several Japanese sports dailies.
“Why does the Sumo Association have the right to treat life and health so lightly?” asked a Twitter user.
“I can’t help but think they could have reacted faster,” commented a Nikkan Sports reporter.
The last death of an active sumotori was in May 2020, when wrestler Shobushi, 28, died after contracting the coronavirus.