Newer fans, who have only discovered Japan¡¯s national sport in the past few years, could be forgiven for thinking that rapid progress to the top of the banzuke is the norm for sumo¡¯s biggest names.
Given how quickly men such as Onosato and Aonishiki went from promising youngsters to superstars, that would be a reasonable assumption.
With numerous other marquee wrestlers in recent years having success at the collegiate and amateur levels, it might also appear as if future yokozuna and šzeki? can easily be identified while they are still teenagers or even younger.
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