Terunofuji Haruo decided to retire from sumo on the event date of 2025-01-16, ending an injury-plagued career that took him from the bottom of the rankings to the yokozuna rank and back again.

The supplied Kyodo and Nikkan Sports reports agree on the key fact: the 73rd yokozuna planned to step away after struggling with chronic physical problems, including knee pain and diabetes. The Nikkan account says he withdrew from the January tournament after losing on Day 4 and that the Japan Sumo Association had effectively settled on the retirement decision soon after. Kyodo describes him as the only current yokozuna at the time of the decision.

What makes Terunofuji's career notable is the scale of the comeback before the end. The supplied report traces a path that included debuting in 2011, moving up through the divisions, winning his first top-division title in 2015 and reaching ozeki. From there, injuries and illness sent him far down the rankings, eventually all the way to jonidan, one of the lowest divisions in professional sumo. Few wrestlers have ever experienced a fall that deep and then reversed it.

He did reverse it. Terunofuji rebuilt his body and form, climbed back to makuuchi, won more titles and was promoted to yokozuna after the 2021 Nagoya tournament. The report notes that he captured 10 career championships in total and 6 after becoming yokozuna, a record of sustained success that makes his retirement more than the end of a single reign. It closes one of the most dramatic careers in modern sumo.

The decision to retire came after another difficult tournament. The Nikkan report says he entered the January meet after missing two straight tournaments, lost to Tobizaru on Day 4, then withdrew. The physical limits were no longer abstract. The injuries that had shadowed him for years were again preventing him from competing at the level expected of a grand champion.

Even so, the reporting makes clear that Terunofuji's legacy is not only about pain or absence. It is also about resilience. He won after falling, rose when many thought the climb was over and reached the summit of the sport despite a career path that was unlike any other. That is why his retirement will be treated as a major sumo event, not just a routine roster change.

The supplied reports say he plans to work as a coach at Isegahama stable, helping guide younger wrestlers. A retirement press conference was expected in the days following the decision. For fans, the next phase will be to see whether the man who twice rebuilt himself in sumo can now do something similar as a mentor.

The event date for this story is 2025-01-16.