Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi | |
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栃ノ心 剛史 | |
Personal information | |
Born | Levan Gorgadze October 13, 1987 Mtskheta, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 3+1⁄2 in) |
Weight | 176 kg (388 lb; 27.7 st) |
Career | |
Stable | Kasugano |
Record | 681–615–106 |
Debut | March, 2006 |
Highest rank | Ōzeki (July, 2018) |
Retired | 19 May 2023 |
Championships | 1 Makuuchi 3 Jūryō 2 Makushita |
Special Prizes | Fighting Spirit (6) Outstanding Performance (2) Technique (3) |
Gold Stars | 2 (Harumafuji, Kisenosato) |
* Up to date as of 19 May 2023. |
Tochinoshin Tsuyoshi (Japanese: 栃ノ心 剛史, born 13 October 1987 as Levan Gorgadze (Georgian: ლევან გორგაძე; [levan ɡoɾɡadze])) is a Georgian former professional sumo wrestler from Mtskheta. He was a member of the Kasugano stable and made his professional debut in March 2006. He reached the top makuuchi division just two years later in May 2008. After a long hiatus due to injury, he began his comeback from the rank of makushita 55 in March 2014, logging four championships in a row in lower divisions on his way back to the top division in November 2014. In January 2018 he took his first and only top-division championship. In May 2018, after finishing as runner-up with a 13–2 record and a total of 37 wins in his last three tournaments, he was promoted to ōzeki. He received eleven special prizes, six for Fighting Spirit, three for Technique, and two for Outstanding Performance, as well as two kinboshi for defeating yokozuna. Tochinoshin was demoted to sekiwake after posting losing records in the first two tournaments of 2019, but returned to ōzeki after winning ten matches at the May 2019 tournament.[1] He lost the ōzeki rank again after the September 2019 tournament, and lost his top division status after he was sidelined with a shoulder injury during the January 2023 tournament. He retired from sumo on 19 May 2023.[2]