Sweat darkened the white "dohyo" ring mat as Ireland's first female sumo wrestler shoved and strained, learning a freshly-discovered sport. Having tried the centuries-old Japanese discipline out of ...

A man who brought a sumo club to Barnsley has said he hopes to encourage more women to take up the sport. Richard Riggs set up Barnsley Sumo Club in 2024 after "looking for something interesting to do ...

Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Reeno Hashimoto and Koji Ueda at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article. While professional sumo wrestling in Japan maintains its ...

TOKYO (AP) — For centuries, sumo's deep links with the Shinto religion barred women from entering the ring, let alone allowing them to participate. While women remain excluded from professional sumo, ...

TOKYO (AP) — Sumo is more than a sport in Japan. It’s a sacred tradition, a 1,500-year-old spectacle steeped in Shinto ritual and ceremony. But at its heart lies a long-standing taboo: women are still ...

The world of sumo could be rocked this month if Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi presents a trophy in the ring, where women have traditionally been banned. AFP looks at the ancient sport, at previous ...