3 wrestlers admit match-fixing: Japanese Sports Minister
Three sumo wrestlers have admitted to match-fixing, the Japanese sports minister said on Thursday, in the latest blow to troubled sport as it tries to clean up its tarnished image following a series of scandals.
February 03, 2011 / 19:34 IST
Three sumo wrestlers have admitted to match-fixing, the Japanese sports minister said on Thursday, in the latest blow to troubled sport as it tries to clean up its tarnished image following a series of scandals.
The Japan Sumo Association (JSA) could lose the preferential tax treatment it enjoys as a public interest group if match-fixing is prevalent, cabinet ministers said.Police found e-mails listing names of 13 wrestlers that indicated some may have been involved in fixing matches, the JSA said on Wednesday. Wins may have been bought and sold for several hundred thousand yen (several thousand dollars) per bout, media reports said.Sports minister Yoshiaki Takaki told parliament the sumo governing group's chairman has said three people had admitted to involvement in match-fixing. Two are wrestlers and one is an elder or former wrestler, Kyodo news agency said."Unless investigations aimed to reveal the entire picture start soon, (the JSA) cannot win public support for the March tournament," Senior Vice Sports Minister Kan Suzuki told a news conference.Suspicions of match-fixing have emerged before, but chairman Hanaregoma said this was a new problem."Rather than being disappointed, I'm thinking this really did exist," sumo expert Kiyoshi Nakazawa told broadcaster NTV."Why hasn't the JSA been able to educate the wrestlers not to fix matches? That is very regrettable."The JSA hosts six grand tournaments a year with the next one scheduled for March. Last July, public broadcaster NHK canceled live television broadcasts of the tournament for the first time in over 50 years after an illegal gambling scandal hit sumo.A committee of non-JSA members are investigating the problem and JSA board members are set to meet on Sunday. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
