Escaped the war in Ukraine, became Japanese and a sumo superstar

Javhusisjyn, who competes under the name Aonishiki, won his second straight title at the New Year's tournament in Tokyo in January. If he wins again in March, he will advance to yokozuna, the sport's highest rank.

He fled the war in 2022 and arrived in Japan without any Japanese language skills. He made his professional debut as late as July 2023 and reached ozeki, the second-highest level, in record time last year.

"Getting stronger and reaching a higher rank is my motivation," he says in fluent Japanese, according to AFP.

Sumo is growing in popularity, both in Japan and internationally, with tournaments held overseas.

"It makes me happy if more people want to learn more about the sport," says Javhusisjyn.