A British teenager is tipped to make it to the very top as a sumo wrestler in Japan.
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teenager → tip → Japan
Nicholas Tarasenko, 17, left his family home in Hull, East Yorkshire, to pursue his dream of becoming world champion.
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Tarasenko → leave → dream
The teenager, also known as Eisei, discovered his love of the sport through his father, a lifelong fan.
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teenager → know → father
And while most teenagers might typically spend their free time catching up on extra sleep or watching TV, Nicholas has a strict programme to help him train.
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him → spend → programme
The 17-year-old wakes up at 5am, goes to bed at 11pm and consumes 5,000 calories every day to help him bulk up.
His diet consists of rice and chanko nabe, a type of stew known as sumo wrestlers' chicken hotpot, and at 6ft 2in, Nicholas currently weighs 134kg but aims to reach 150kg.
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Nicholas → go → kg
When not training he works as a domestic servant for other wrestlers by helping them with their loin cloths, sweeping the wrestling ring and preparing the chanko nabe before doing the washing-up.
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he → train → washing
The 17-year-old only speaks to his family once a week and cannot go out for lunch until he rises in the hierarchy from 'his role as the lowest ranking wrestler' at the Sumo Training Academy in Tokyo.
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he → speak → Tokyo
British teenager Nicholas Tarasenko is tipped to make it to the very top of sumo wrestling
Before he became set on a career in sumo wrestling, Nicholas excelled in judo but turned down a place on British national team
And when he finally has time to himself, Nicholas chooses to spend it learning Japanese.
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Nicholas → tip → Japanese
The teenager is the second Briton to achieve professional wrestler status but despite his young age, training master Takayuki Minato said he has 'unlimited potential' and that Nicholas 'can go as far as yokozuna', which means grand champion.
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which → achieve → champion
Before he became set on a career in sumo wrestling, Nicholas excelled in judo but turned down a place on the British national team.
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Nicholas → become → team
He told The Times: 'It was pretty difficult because in judo, I was miles ahead of people.
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I definitely did have a future there.
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And I had to restart from zero [in sumo] and be miles behind everyone.'
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Nevertheless, he added: 'I really like doing hard things.
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I like challenging myself.
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When we have a week off after the tournament, I just find myself bored.
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myself → have → tournament
Obviously I hate doing hard things at the time, but after, it's a very good feeling, isn't it?
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it → hate → time
Knowing that you've done something really hard today.'
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you → know → something
Nicholas's love for the sport came from his father, Georgi, who is a lifelong fan.
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who → come → father
Three years ago, at the age of 14, Nicholas visited his father's home country of Estonia.
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Nicholas → visit → Estonia
When he finally has time to himself, Nicholas chooses to spend it learning Japanese
Nicholas (right) is seen here in the sumo ring before a match against his opponent
Nicholas's love for the sport came from his father, Georgi, who is a lifelong fan
They went to an amateur sumo tournament and after an hour-long taster session the teenager defeated opponents four years older than him.
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A year later Nicholas and his father went on holiday to Tokyo and went to a post-tournament party where he asked if he could join the training centre after doing his GCSEs and was told he could go for a trial.
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he → go → trial
Just before his 15th birthday, Nicholas flew to Japan and debuted in Nagoya, winning four out of seven matches.
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Nicholas → fly → matches
His goal now is to become a sekitori sumo wrestler, in the top two divisions of the sport, which usually takes around three to four years.
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The Aporia
