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The Show Must Go On!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Dohyo

Tokyo -- The Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament will be held as scheduled beginning on July 11. Because of a damaging gambling scandal that has enveloped the sport, serious doubt had been cast on whether or not this would be the case.

Ozeki Kotomitsuki, however, will not be competing at the tourney, and is set to be barred from sumo altogether.

Stablemaster Otake (fighting name Takatoriki) may meet a similar fate, and many others, including both active wrestlers as well as sumo elders, are likely to face suspensions and other sanctions of varying severity.

The public broadcaster NHK has threatened not to air the sumo tournament if the wrestlers implicated in the gambling scandal are allowed to complete.

More than 1,100 formal public complaints have been received by NHK requesting that the sumo tourney not be aired.

The gambling scandal came to light on May 19 when a weekly magazine reported that Ozeki Kotomitsuki was involved in gambling on baseball games, but later it emerged that at least 36 others from the sumo world were involved in similar activities.


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