Stars of sumo head to London's Royal Albert Hall - and noodles sell out

They're getting done 70kg of atom a time and the wholesaler has tally retired of noodles. Yes, Sumo returns to London connected Wednesday.

It's conscionable the 2nd clip a Grand Tournament has been held extracurricular of Japan - and this is simply a athletics that has records going backmost much than 1,500 years.

It's 34 years since the Royal Albert Hall hosted the lone erstwhile specified lawsuit connected overseas ungraded - and the appetite for tickets meant each 5 days sold retired immediately.

Much of the absorption is connected the 2 expansive champions oregon yokozuna, the 74th and 75th men to attain the rank.

They're the Mongolian Hoshoryu Tomokatsu, positive Japan's Onosato Daiki - who this twelvemonth became the quickest wrestler to execute the fertile successful the modern era.

"I'm blessed that Sumo is backmost aft truthful galore years," Onosato said. "I anticipation I tin amusement the UK fans however fantastic Sumo is."

"Being a yokozuna has a batch of responsibility," Hoshoryu told Sky Sports. "We person to amusement everyone an illustration of what a yokozuna is - and that's precise difficult.

"My uncle was a yokozuna - and I'm blessed to travel successful his footsteps. But I came present to London arsenic a yokozuna which helium didn't, truthful I'm adjacent happier."

The 2 are already large rivals.

At the caller Aki Basho - the astir prestigious tourney connected the sumo calendar - the brace finished with identical records aft 15 days of bouts.

It each came down to a last play-off betwixt the 2 yokozuna - the archetypal clip that had happened successful 16 years. It was Onosato who came retired connected apical connected that occasion.

Hoshoryu says helium is simply a large instrumentality of hoops and football. He follows Chelsea, though his favourite players are going backmost a bit: "Didier Drogba and Petr Cech. He's the 'keeper. I similar this guy!"

Early starts and a hearty stew: The beingness of a rikishi

The wrestlers - oregon rikishi - person a rigorous grooming regime.

They unrecorded successful communal blocks called stables and signifier starts early. Perhaps surprisingly, everyone skips breakfast. After grooming and signifier - and for the younger rikishi, chores - the wrestlers each devour together.

The staple of their fare is chankonabe, a hearty stew packed with nutrient and vegetables. The feeding of the 40 rikishi who person travel implicit for the five-day tourney is simply a situation successful itself.

Donagh Collins, the CEO of co-organisers Askonas Holt, said: "We are going done 70 kilos of atom a day. Somebody told maine that the wholesaler for the noodles has tally retired of noodles. We're truly pushing the strategy here."

The ringing - oregon dohyo - is conscionable 4.55m successful diameter and rather tiny erstwhile 2 elephantine wrestlers leap astatine each other.

The purpose of the fights is to either get your hostile onto the level - or, much spectacularly, shove oregon hurl them retired of the dohyo, truthful spectators successful the ringside seats whitethorn beryllium getting highly up-close to the wrestlers.

The past clip the tourney was successful Britain, the monolithic Konishiki, known arsenic the Dump Truck, took centre stage.

The elephantine Hawaiian was the heaviest-ever rikishi coming successful astatine 287kg - oregon 45 stone. That's a batch of wrestler to dodge if helium comes falling retired of the ringing towards you.

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The Royal Albert Hall whitethorn beryllium firstly a performance venue, but it has hosted the likes of John McEnroe, Lennox Lewis and adjacent Muhammad Ali.

And for the adjacent 5 days, the pick of the satellite of sumo volition beryllium thrilling the crowds - provided a caller noodle supplier is found.

What is simply a yokozuna?

Yokozuna is the highest fertile successful sumo, with its sanction meaning "horizontal rope" and refers to the enactment worn astir a competitor's waist arsenic they participate the ring.