Harumafuji said mad at smartphone use by wrestler

November 16, 2017

Tokyo- Sumo grand champion Harumafuji is likely to have lost his temper at the smartphone use by a junior wrestler he allegedly assaulted in late October, informed sources said Wednesday.

According to the sources, the junior sumo wrestler, Takanoiwa, used his smartphone while being scolded by the 33-year-old yokozuna for his rude attitude toward older wrestlers. Harumafuji got very angry and hit him in his head with a beer bottle, among other violent acts.

The incident happed when Harumafuji was drinking with other Mongolian wrestlers, including Takanoiwa, 27, and Yokuzuna Hakuho, in the western city of Tottori, where they were on a sumo tour.

Hakuho tried to stop the violence, the sources added.

Accepting Takanoiwa's offense report, the Tottori prefectural police department has launched an investigation. The department is expected to send officers to Fukuoka, where the Kyushu grand tournament is taking place, investigative sources said.

Not only Harumafuji and Takanoiwa but other wrestlers will be questioned, they said. Jiji Press