Mongolian jungyo under way

[Jonosuke 28]

I think Group A rikishi were those ranked in East side at the Nagoya Basho while Group B were in the West side.

Asashoryu's name comes up often as he was the promoter (well his firm ASA Group was) so ultimately they were responsible for all activities planned and executed.

Obviously Asashoryu or any promoter could not do anything about the weather however Mongolian weather conditions at the time could have been well predicted and as such more concrete contingency plans could have been formulated by the promoters as according to Kyokai officials their plan was to simply wait for the weather to clear up while either postponing or cancelling activities.

For instance if there was rain, then there could been another activity planned but none was. Kyokai officials were also concerned about protecting lightly attired rikishi from damp weather during their move and at the venue but there was nothing specifically equipped to keep them warm throughout.

In any case if there was any impression that the Kyokai would be reluctant to return to Mongolia because of the promoter, that was not the case. It has more to do with the difficulty of timing as finding the ideal time to visit there as logistics of transporting all rikishi and other officials back and forth as well as holding social functions along with jungyo events could be overwhelming in bad weather as the Kyokai can hold an oversea jungyo only in certain allotted time between hon-basho and other domestic jungyo.

Edited September 1, 2008 by Jonosuke

[Fay 1,677]

I think Group A rikishi were those ranked in East side at the Nagoya Basho while Group B were in the West side.

Seems it's not so easy. Kotoshogiku, being on he west side, was in group A, and Futeno,being on the east side got a ticket for the A group from Asa.

For instance if there was rain, then there could been another activity planned but none was. Kyokai officials were also concerned about protecting lightly attired rikishi from damp weather during their move and at the venue but there was nothing specifically equipped to keep them warm throughout.

At least Kaio was clever enough to wear a pullover under his yukata outside, no need to spoon-feed everything to the rikishi. They have a brain and can inform themselves about weather conditions and take some warm clothes with them. And it didn't look like the rikishi were freezing so much in their preparation rooms.

[madorosumaru 7]

The weather was always a factor in determining whether to go on a Mongolia Jungyo. The matter was not helped when the reception hosted by the president was held alfresco in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, where the wind was blisteringly cold. Hakuho, whose Group B missed the event due to flight delay, joked with unconcealed bitterness, "The guys said it was really cold. Maybe, we were better off stranded in Seoul."

A parade featuring the famed Mongolian cavalry scheduled on the last day was canceled due to heavy rains. Group A was able to beat the storm out of town but not the unfortunate Group B.

As for the logistics of the two groups, part of it is the luck of the draw. Asashoryu was the East Yokozuna, so he headed the first group. I am sure his being part of the organizing group was a factor in determining which flight the group took. ;-) On the return trip from the Las Vegas Koen, the yokozuna was with Group A that had to get up in the wee hours to take a five-hour bus ride to the Los Angeles airport for their flight home. Group B slept in and flew out of McCarron later that morning. They also had to make a re-fueling stop at LAX but at least they didn't have to take the early morning bus. Viva Las Vegas

[Kintamayama 47,318]

The aftermath of the delays and traveling problems-some rikishi are ill. "I have a 37.5 fever. My stomach is in a bad state as well", complained Hakuhou of the B Team. Baruto of the A team: "Something in the food I ate there has been causing me problems. I have herpes around my mouth and I'm having serious intestinal problems!" Toyonoshima of the same A-Team: "I have caught a cold!"

[Fay 1,677]

At least our Kotoshogiku is not so thin-skinned. He wrote that he was very busy, but he enjoyed the stay and had a great time over in Mongolia.

He sent me some pics, I think they will appear minuscule sooner or later in his blog but here they are in big ;-).

at Asashoryu's parents:

[Orion 431]

At least our Kotoshogiku is not so thin-skinned. He wrote that he was very busy, but he enjoyed the stay and had a great time over in Mongolia.

He sent me some pics, I think they will appear minuscule sooner or later in his blog but here they are in big ;-).

at Asashoryu's parents:

That's what I'd call a decent bowl of airag. Those two at the left are exhcanging snuff, btw.

Ah, how it all comes back -- three years exactly since I was last there.

Orion

Edited September 3, 2008 by Manekineko
Quote fix

[Orion 431]

The aftermath of the delays and traveling problems-some rikishi are ill. "I have a 37.5 fever. My stomach is in a bad state as well", complained Hakuhou of the B Team. Baruto of the A team: "Something in the food I ate there has been causing me problems. I have herpes around my mouth and I'm having serious intestinal problems!" Toyonoshima of the same A-Team: "I have caught a cold!"

More likely Baruto ingested some of the tapwater. Fortunately the Mongolian strains of e coli tend to be earlier, less deadly ones. (No matter how carefully the instructions say "Use only bottled water" there's always somebody who forgets to use bottled water when brushing his teeth -- and the hotel tapwater gets into the system.) Just guessing. In my case I avoided all those pitfalls but didn't boil the water long enough, on the last day when I ran out of bottled stuff.

Orion @ been there, done that

[Manekineko 200]

The meme spreads! ;-)

Thank you and Shogi for the photos. :-D

[Murakami 0]

I hope the Japanese wrestlers had good time here, in Mongolia. The country is anything like the other Asian and European countries. Very different culture and values. I think Baruto and Kotooshu had the most fun since the country is similar to theirs.