Japanese Sumo Wrestler teams come to London to compete

Sport of the week: Sumo Wrestling! Sumo lovers are loving this event. It is a significant event since this is only the second time the Grand Sumo Tournament has been held outside of Japan. The Sumo wrestlers fly to London for the second time, after their first trip to London for one of the previous matches. This tournament is running from Wednesday, 15th, until Sunday, 19th of October.

What is sumo, anyway? It‘s a traditional sport that originated in Japan and is very popular around the world. Sumo is like Japanese wrestling in a ring-shaped area.

London even accommodated hotels and food for the athletes! Due to their heavy weight requirements for wrestling, hotels have to prepare 5 times the amount of protein stew and rice. Even the beds are extra large for the sumo wrestlers to sleep comfortably.

According to BBC News, “The Grand Sumo Tournament has the best wrestlers from Japan competing, so the Royal Albert Hall needed a major makeover for the event. The sport takes place in a ring called a dohyō. So a five-metre wide clay ring has been built using 11 tonnes of clay as well as a wooden roof to look like a Japanese shrine.”

Every day, the athletes have to compete in 20 bouts(or matches) and try to win the tournament while the audiences watch for 4 days straight.

So what do you think? Will you be attending?