Sumo: Asashoryu accused of seriously injuring man in drunken tirade

TOKYO, Jan. 28 Kyodo -
Asashoryu is set for a fresh grilling by the Japan Sumo Association and could
be in more hot water after a man told police he was seriously assaulted by the
controversial Mongolian grand champion during a drunken tirade.
Asashoryu, 29, was reported by weekly magazine Friday last week to have been
''sloshed'' before slugging an acquaintance, who was originally believed to
have been his manager, outside a pub in downtown Nishiazabu in the early hours
of Jan. 16.
However, weekly magazine Shukan Shincho has reported in its edition which hit
newsstands Thursday that the actual man attacked in the incident, which
occurred during the recently concluded New Year meet, was in charge of a dance
club where the yokozuna had been drinking.
The JSA said Thursday it will be demanding an explanation from Asashoryu in the
wake of the fresh allegations.
On Monday, Asashoryu admitted to drunken behavior as reported in weekly
magazine Friday and was reprimanded along with his stablemaster Takasago by JSA
chairman Musashigawa.
''A reprimand is not punishment. We want a report of what actually happened so
we can get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible,'' said JSA member Jun
Yoshino. ''Depending on the outcome the penalty made need to be more than a
warning.''
Asashoryu allegedly punched the man, who has not been identified, in the chest
while exiting the club and later hit him in the face after the yokozuna said,
''Let's go talk in the car.''
The article gives a detailed account of Asashoryu instructing his driver to go
to a river after the man said the matter of the assault was ''water under the
bridge.''
''I'll kill you there,'' he is quoted as saying as the car drove off.
Asashoryu's car reportedly entered a street where police officers were already
on the scene due to an accident.
The man is reported to have screamed out ''help'' and ''I'm being attacked''
when the car went by the accident and police apparently rushed to his aid.
Azabu police have said Asashoryu, whose real name is Dolgorsuren Dagvadorj, is
likely to be questioned in the case, if the man does decide to file a criminal
complaint.
The man, whose injuries reportedly included a broken nose, lacerations of the
lip and bruises to the back of his head, apparently went to police on Monday, a
day after the New Year meet concluded, to discuss the incident.
Asashoryu won his 25th career Emperor's Cup at the New Year meet to take sole
possession of third on the all-time list for the most title wins in sumo
history.
One of his managers claimed that he had been the person assaulted and although
Asashoryu had been vague about details he has not denied that account.
If a coverup did indeed occur and criminal charges are brought against the
yokozuna, sumo officials are warning that Asashoryu would likely be forced into
early retirement.
Asashoryu is no stranger to controversy and his frequent breaches of protocol
have led to an increasingly strained relationship with the sumo establishment.
He faced the firing squad in 2007, receiving a two-tournament ban which sparked
a bout of depression after it was revealed that he had played hooky from a
summer regional tour by feigning the degree of his injuries while later taking
part in a soccer match in his native Mongolia.
Asashoryu has also been censured by the JSA for playing golf with other
Mongolian wrestlers, including rival yokozuna Hakuho, immediately before last
year's summer meet.
In a 2003 bout he was disqualified for yanking the hair of compatriot
Kyokushuzan, a no-no in sumo. He picked a fight with Kyokushuzan in the locker
room afterwards and was later accused of smashing the wing mirror of the same
wrestler's car.
==Kyodo