A staff helps an elementary school sumo wrestler to wear a mawashi, the loincloth that sumo wrestlers wear, during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers fall out of the sumo ring as they compete in the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers wait for their tournaments during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers wait for their tournaments during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

An elementary school sumo wrestler puts ice on his head after his match during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

An elementary school sumo wrestler cries in the sumo ring after losing in his match during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

An elementary school sumo wrestler competes in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during the Wanpaku sumo-wrestling tournament in Tokyo, Japan October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestler Kyuta Kumagai heads to a sumo ring at a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestler Kyuta Kumagai competes in a sumo ring at a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Taisuke Kumagai adjusts his son Kyuta's loincloth, called a mawashi, ahead of a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestler Kyuta Kumagai warms up as he watches other students' competitions at a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestler Kyuta Kumagai stands next to other sumo wrestlers as he waits for his match at a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestler Kyuta Kumagai competes in a sumo ring at a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Taisuke Kumagai pats the head of his son and elementary school sumo wrestler Kyuta Kumagai after Kyuta winning in his age group competition during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestler Kyuta Kumagai looks at his victory medal after a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestler Kyuta Kumagai competes in a sumo ring at a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestler Kyuta Kumagai washes his foot after winning in his age group competition during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

An elementary school sumo wrestler cries after losing his match at a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers wait for their matches during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Elementary school sumo wrestlers compete in the sumo ring during a regional tournament of Junior Olympic Cup All-Japan Elementary School Sumo Championship in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan, October 17, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon 

Among the young sumo wrestlers lifting weights in the ring, 10-year-old Kyuta Kumagai stands out. At 85 kilograms (187 lb), Kyuta is twice the size of the other children his age and is so dominant that he wrestles, and beats, boys five or six years older. Last year, he was crowned the under-10 world champion, beating out competition from as far afield as the United Kingdom and Ukraine. His training regime, devised by his father Taisuke, is relentless. He trains six days a week, either at his local sumo club or lifting weights. He also swims and practices track and field to build up the flexibility and explosive quickness needed for sumo wrestling. Kyuta has been on the programme since his father entered him in a tournament while still in kindergarten. "I didn't teach him anything, he could do various things naturally," said Taisuke, a former amateur sumo. "There is a talent for sumo and he has that talent. He won the tournament. I thought he may have something special." A shy boy of few words, Kyuta's motivations are simple. "It is fun to beat people older than me." REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES Matching text: SUMO-JAPAN/KID 

Kyuta Kumagai, 10, trains on a Dohyo, a traditional ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held, at Komatsuryu Sumo Club in Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2020. "Sumo training is something you don't describe with words like 'enjoy'," Kyuta said. "When it became tough? I have thought about (quitting) sometimes." REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "GLOBAL POY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "REUTERS POY" FOR ALL BEST OF 2021 PACKAGES. 

Kyuta Kumagai, 10, wrestles with a boy the same age as him, during a training session at Buddy acL Ariake's wrestling club in Tokyo, Japan, August 22, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Kyuta Kumagai, 10, stretches during a training session at Buddy acL Ariake's wrestling club, in Tokyo, Japan, August 22, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Kyuta Kumagai, 10, trains on a Dohyo, a traditional ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held, at Komatsuryu Sumo Club in Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2020. "Sumo training is something you don't describe with words like 'enjoy'," Kyuta said. "When it became tough? I have thought about (quitting) sometimes." REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Kyuta Kumagai, 10, pushes tires while training on a Dohyo, a traditional ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held, at Komatsuryu Sumo Club in Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Kyuta Kumagai, 10, trains on a Dohyo, a traditional ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held, at Komatsuryu sumo club in Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Kyuta Kumagai, 10, practises sumo with a boy on a dohyo, a traditional ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held, during a training session at Komatsuryu Sumo Club in Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2020. "It is fun to beat people older than me," said Kyuta. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Among the young sumo wrestlers lifting weights in the ring, 10-year-old Kyuta Kumagai stands out. At 85 kilograms (187 lb), Kyuta is twice the size of the other children his age and is so dominant that he wrestles, and beats, boys five or six years older. Last year, he was crowned the under-10 world champion, beating out competition from as far afield as the United Kingdom and Ukraine. His training regime, devised by his father Taisuke, is relentless. He trains six days a week, either at his local sumo club or lifting weights. He also swims and practices track and field to build up the flexibility and explosive quickness needed for sumo wrestling. Kyuta has been on the programme since his father entered him in a tournament while still in kindergarten. "I didn't teach him anything, he could do various things naturally," said Taisuke, a former amateur sumo. "There is a talent for sumo and he has that talent. He won the tournament. I thought he may have something special." A shy boy of few words, Kyuta's motivations are simple. "It is fun to beat people older than me." REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. Matching text: SUMO-JAPAN/KID 

Kyuta Kumagai, 10, practises sumo on a Dohyo, a traditional ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held, at Komatsuryu Sumo Club in Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2020. "Sumo training is something you don't describe with words like 'enjoy'," Kyuta said. "When it became tough? I have thought about (quitting) sometimes." REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Kyuta Kumagai's, 10, foot is pictured covered with sand as he trains on a Dohyo, a traditional ring in which sumo wrestling bouts are held, at Komatsuryu Sumo Club in Tokyo, Japan, December 6, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon SEARCH "KYUNG-HOON SUMO" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

People take pictures with The President’s Cup, which U.S. President Donald Trump will present to the winner of a sumo wrestling tournament, is on display at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo, Japan May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 

U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty takes a picture with The President’s Cup, which U.S. President Donald Trump will present to the winner of a sumo wrestling tournament, is on display at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo, Japan May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 

Hotel security stand nearby as The President’s Cup, which U.S. President Donald Trump will present to the winner of a sumo wrestling tournament, is on display at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo, Japan May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 

People take pictures with The President’s Cup, which U.S. President Donald Trump will present to the winner of a sumo wrestling tournament, is on display at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo, Japan May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 

The President’s Cup, which U.S. President Donald Trump will present to the winner of a sumo wrestling tournament, is on display at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo, Japan May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 

People take pictures with The President’s Cup, which U.S. President Donald Trump will present to the winner of a sumo wrestling tournament, is on display at the Palace Hotel in Tokyo, Japan May 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst 

College students work out at the Sumo wrestling club at Nippon Sports Science University in Tokyo, Japan May 20, 2019. Picture taken May 20, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

College students work out at the Sumo wrestling club at Nippon Sports Science University in Tokyo, Japan May 20, 2019. Picture taken May 20, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato 

College students work out at the Sumo wrestling club at Nippon Sports Science University in Tokyo, Japan May 20, 2019. Picture taken May 20, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato 

College students work out at the Sumo wrestling club at Nippon Sports Science University in Tokyo, Japan May 20, 2019. Picture taken May 20, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato 

College students work out at the Sumo wrestling club at Nippon Sports Science University in Tokyo, Japan May 20, 2019. Picture taken May 20, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato 

College students work out at the Sumo wrestling club at Nippon Sports Science University in Tokyo, Japan May 20, 2019. Picture taken May 20, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato