Hidetora Hanada
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| Nationality | Japanese | ||||||||||||||
| Born | October 30, 2001 | ||||||||||||||
| Football career | |||||||||||||||
| No. 93 – Colorado State Rams | |||||||||||||||
| Position | Defensive tackle | ||||||||||||||
| Class |  | ||||||||||||||
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| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 280 lb (127 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Wakayama Commercial High School (Wakayama) | ||||||||||||||
| College |
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| Stats at ESPN | |||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Hidetora Hanada (Japanese: 花田 秀虎, Hepburn: Hanada Hidetora), born October 30, 2001) is a Japanese gridiron football defensive tackle for the Colorado State Rams and former amateur sumo wrestler.
Hanada was born in Wakayama Prefecture. Influenced by his father, who participated in amateur sumo tournaments at national level, and his mother, a judo instructor. He experienced a variety of martial arts since his childhood, however, choosing sumo because it is impossible to have a draw and because of its simplicity.[1] Hanada won the local wanpaku sumo when he was in the second grade of elementary school.[2]
Before entering junior high school, he was advised to specialize in order to comply with Nishiwa Junior High School sports club registration requirements, and Hanada chose to pursue sumo activities.[1] Hanada and other former members from their elementary school club revived the club, which had been closed due to a lack of members, also finishing second in the individual competition at the Japan Junior High School Championships in his third year.[1]
Amateur sumo career
Hanada decided to enroll in the Wakayama Commercial High School, a school with a renowned sumo club, as his middle school was nearby and he had already had the opportunity to train there with coaches who also divided their time between the two schools.[1] There, Hanada achieved consecutive championships in the openweight division at the World Junior Sumo Championships in 2018 and 2019.[2] In total, Hanada won seven national high school titles.[3] At that time, he had already attracted the interest of several professional stables but decided to continue his studies at university level.[4]
During his high school years, he also fought against future Kitanowaka and Yoshinofuji, the latter defeating him in the final of the All-Japan Junior High School Championships and in the semifinals of the Inter-High School Championships.[3][5] During the Inter-High Championship in his freshman year, he was defeated in the quarterfinals by Sugarragchaagiin Byambasuren, and in his sophomore year, he was also eliminated from the competition at the same level by Yūto Suzuki.[6]
After graduating from high school, he went to Nippon Sport Science University (NSSU), where he also won seven national championships.[3] In 2020, Hanada won the All Japan Sumo Championship,[7] qualifying for makushita tsukedashi status, prevailing in a competition that included amateur stars such as his NSSU classmate Pürevsürengiin Delgerbayar.[8] With this win, Hanada became the first wrestler from his university to win the amateur yokozuna title in eight years and became the second amateur yokozuna as a freshman in 36 years since Hisashi Keita in 1984.[7][8] His success at the time was attributed both to his talent and to the fact that his classmate, Daiki Nakamura, an almost undefeated star on the amateur scene, was beginning to attract the attention of many rival clubs, placing a heavy mental burden on him and leaving Hanada free to surprise other wrestlers who were ill-prepared to face him.[9] In 2021, Hanada qualified for the final of the same championship, but was defeated by Keita Kawazoe.[10] At the 2022 World Games, he won the heavyweight final as a first-year senior at university, defeating his classmate Daiki Nakamura, who later became professional sumo's 75th yokozuna.[9][11]
For all his achievements during his amateur career, Hanada earned the nickname Sumo genius (天才力士, Tensai rikishi).[4] Hanada, although slightly smaller than most other wrestlers, compensated for his physical shortcomings with great speed and technical skill.[9]
During his university years, Hanada told the press that he could see his future clearly mapped out: becoming a professional, entering the top division and achieving success there before retiring and becoming a master. However, this vision bothered him, creating in him a desire to experiment more with what the sport has to offer, raising questions about a possible occupational burnout.[1]