Hakuho Elected International and Asian Sumo President, Targets Wider Global Reach

Record champion takes charge of international sumo

Hakuho, the Mongolian born former grand champion who won a record 45 top division titles in professional sumo, has been elected president of the International Sumo Federation and will also lead the Asian Sumo Federation. His appointment puts one of the sport's most recognisable figures at the centre of efforts to expand international competition and secure a place at major multisport events.

The international federation announced his appointment on October 16, 2026, immediately before the World Sumo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on October 17 and 18. The 41 year old succeeds Akio Toyoda, chairman of Toyota Motor Corp., as head of the organisation governing amateur sumo worldwide.

Hakuho, known in Mongolia as Munkhbat Davaajargal, was professional sumo's 69th yokozuna, the sport's highest rank. His new responsibilities extend beyond the professional competition in Japan where he built his reputation. International amateur sumo includes women, younger competitors and weight divisions, giving him a different and broader sporting structure to lead.

His immediate ambitions include working with Senegal's National Olympic Committee to introduce sumo to more African countries and pursuing its inclusion in the 2030 Asian Games in Qatar. He has also spoken about the longer ambition of bringing sumo into the Olympic programme.

The appointment announcement and election accounts give October 16, 2026, as the date he took office; an account of his speech at the Baku opening ceremony instead describes him as having been elected the previous year. The October announcement places his accession just before the championships.

What Hakuho wants to carry forward

Hakuho has presented international expansion and the preservation of sumo's traditions as goals that should advance together. He said he was grateful for the confidence placed in him and intended to continue Toyoda's work while committing himself to spreading the sport around the world.

In a statement accompanying his appointment, Hakuho, the new International Sumo Federation president, identified children and younger generations as central to that effort.

"I would like to convey the appeal of sumo to people around the globe and pass it on to children and younger generations," he said in a statement.

Hakuho also described his mission as bringing people together through sumo across differences of nationality, culture and language. Alongside that ambition, he said he wanted to protect the sport's traditions, spirit and values as it reached more countries and regions.

Leading both the international and Asian federations gives him responsibilities at two levels: developing the sport across the world and pursuing opportunities within the region where it originated. His discussions at the Asian Games and proposed cooperation with Senegal show where some of that work is already directed.

From Japan's professional ranks to global administration

Hakuho left the Japan Sumo Association in June 2025 after a career defined by his unprecedented 45 championships in the top division. He subsequently pursued projects promoting sumo internationally and became an adviser to the international federation in September 2025.

The move into the presidency turns that promotional role into formal leadership. His recent activities have included supporting tournaments and events in Japan and abroad, as well as advocating for Olympic inclusion.

The main developments leading to the Baku championships were:

• June 2025: Hakuho left the Japan Sumo Association.
• September 2025: He became an adviser to the International Sumo Federation.
• September 2026: He promoted sumo during the Asian Games in Aichi, Japan.
• October 16, 2026: The international federation announced his appointment as president.
• October 17 and 18, 2026: Baku hosted the World Sumo Championships, scheduled as his first official engagement after taking office.

His career connects two different parts of the sport. The championships that made him famous were earned in Japan's professional system; the organisation he now heads oversees national teams competing under international amateur rules.

Why Baku mattered to the appointment

Baku hosted the World Sumo Championships for the first time, bringing athletes from nearly 30 countries to the Baku Sports Palace. Competition covered senior and under 18 categories, with individual and team events for male and female athletes.

The opening ceremony began with a parade of national flags. Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sports, Farid Gayibov, welcomed the decision to stage the championships in the capital and highlighted state support for sport. Atil Agamirov, president of the Association of Japanese Martial Arts and Culture, said the event would help strengthen friendly relations between countries.

Hakuho congratulated Azerbaijan on hosting the competition and on its October 18 Restoration of Independence Day. He also thanked organisers, staff and participants, and spoke about the value of bringing athletes and supporters from different countries together.

The visit followed a trip to Baku the previous year, when Hakuho learned about preparations for the tournament and met its mascot, Azumo. His return placed him at an international championship just as he assumed leadership of the federation.

How international amateur sumo differs

The Baku championships used international amateur sumo rules, with separate weight categories and events for women. Matches took place on a specially prepared earthen dohyo, the traditional sumo wrestling ring.

Professional Japanese sumo operates differently. Wrestlers compete within a ranking system of divisions and titles, with six major tournaments each year lasting 15 days apiece. There are no weight categories, and women are excluded from professional competition.

International amateur sumo allows athletes to represent their countries in both individual and team contests. Weight divisions create separate medal opportunities for competitors of different sizes, while openweight events allow athletes to compete without that separation. Competitors also wear additional clothing beneath the traditional mawashi belt.

Baku's schedule showed the range of that international format. Saturday's programme featured individual and team competition for boys and girls under 18. Sunday's programme was devoted to men's and women's events. For Hakuho, developing this structure means working with athletes whose route into sumo can be very different from his own professional career.

The Asian Games and African expansion

Sumo appeared as a demonstration sport at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi, Japan, in September 2026. Hakuho introduced it to athletes, officials and visitors and met leaders of national Olympic committees during the event.

A demonstration appearance gives a sport exposure at a major competition. The next objective described by Hakuho is a place in the programme of the 2030 Asian Games in Qatar. He said the recent activity had brought that ambition a step closer.

Hakuho also said he would work with Senegal's National Olympic Committee to introduce and develop sumo in African countries. That proposed cooperation gives his global expansion plans a specific institutional partner outside Asia.

No approval or decision timetable was given for sumo's inclusion in either the 2030 Asian Games or the Olympics. Qatar in 2030 is the next named event in his ambitions, while Olympic inclusion remains a broader goal.

The two efforts involve different tasks. Work with a national Olympic committee concerns building relationships and opportunities for participation; admission to a major games programme concerns securing a place for the sport at that event. Hakuho's new roles put both within the scope of his international campaigning.

Azerbaijan brings a record of its own

Azerbaijan's involvement in international sumo dates to 2007. Hosting the world championships followed almost two decades of participation and a series of results at European and world competitions.

Namig Sadigov and Amiraslan Ahmadov won individual gold medals at the 2013 European Championships in Warsaw and contributed to Azerbaijan's team success. In 2023, Azerbaijan finished first in the team standings at the European Cup in Vinni, Estonia, collecting three gold and three silver medals ahead of Poland and Ukraine.

Jamal Feyziyev won both the division above 115 kilograms and the openweight category at that European Cup. Royal Aghamaliyev took the other Azerbaijani gold in the 85 kilogram category, then won silver at the World Championships in Tokyo later in 2023.

Aghamaliyev reached that world final by defeating opponents from Tajikistan, Hungary and Mongolia before losing to Ukraine's Sviatoslav Semikras, a multiple world and European champion. Those results gave the host nation established international competitors for local supporters to follow.

Azerbaijan also arrived with more recent European success. Javid Yusifov won the 115 kilogram title at the 2026 European Championships in Stirling, Scotland. Amrah Shafiyev collected bronze medals in the 85 kilogram and openweight events, and Azerbaijan finished third in the team competition.

Bulgaria's difficult journey to the championships

Bulgaria's delegation faced a disrupted journey after severe storms in Istanbul forced the cancellation of its flight to Baku. The athletes spent the night in Turkey before reaching Azerbaijan at around 4 a.m. the following day and travelling directly from the airport to the official weigh in.

For athletes entered in weight categories, that check is an essential part of the competition schedule: it determines whether they meet the limit for their division. The travel disruption left the Bulgarian team moving straight from its delayed arrival to that requirement.

The delegation included Anna Metodieva, a European champion and world silver medallist competing at 73 kilograms, and Presiyan Mihov, the 2026 European champion at 85 kilograms who had also won European Games bronze. Ivan Blagoev brought a bronze medal from the 2025 World Championships in Bangkok to his campaign at 100 kilograms.

Simeon Stankovic, entered at 115 kilograms, had lost to Azerbaijan's Yusifov at the 2026 European Championships. Baku offered the possibility of another meeting between them, this time with Yusifov competing in front of a home crowd.

A presidency measured beyond famous names

Hakuho's record gives the federation a president with a reputation built at the highest level of professional sumo. Baku showed the wider field he now represents: girls and boys competing alongside senior national teams, established medal winners from Europe and athletes from nearly 30 countries.

The host nation's progress also gives a concrete example of how participation can develop. Azerbaijan moved from its international debut in 2007 to European gold medals in 2013, further team and individual success in 2023, and hosting the world championships in 2026.

Hakuho's stated priorities now connect that kind of national development with larger ambitions. His plans pair outreach to children and new regions with efforts to place sumo at the 2030 Asian Games and, eventually, the Olympics. The immediate work is rooted in the amateur competitions and national sporting relationships his federations oversee.

Key Points

• Hakuho was announced as International Sumo Federation president on October 16, 2026, succeeding Akio Toyoda. He will also lead the Asian Sumo Federation.
• The former 69th yokozuna won a record 45 top division championships in professional sumo.
• Baku hosted its first World Sumo Championships on October 17 and 18, with athletes from nearly 30 countries.
• International amateur sumo includes women's events, youth competition and weight divisions.
• Hakuho plans cooperation with Senegal's National Olympic Committee and is pursuing sumo's inclusion in the 2030 Asian Games in Qatar.
• Olympic inclusion remains an ambition, with no approval or decision timetable announced.