wrestling
NOT YOUR AVERAGE
WRESTLER
Sumo comes to NJ , led by Clifton ’ s ‘ GreatSandstorm ’ WRITTEN BY JANE HAVSY PHOTOGRAPHED BY KEVIN R . WEXLER
Abdelrahman Shalan was dancing .
There was no spotlight anymore . Most of the crowd had filtered out of White Eagle Hall into the damp streets ofJersey City . Shalan was no longer the “ Great Sandstorm ,” anEgyptian sumo wrestler once sopopular he would get mobbed in Japan .
He was just ahusband and dad from Clifton , sharing afew moments with his wife , Alaa Okasha , and their three little boys .
Shalan ’ s 6-foot-2 , 348-pound body shimmied . His belly wobbled over his purple mawashi , the loincloth traditionally worn by sumos . His eldest son , 5½ with puffy curls , held his father ’ s second-place trophy from the night ’ s competition , the first onthe International Sumo League ‘ s 2024 calendar .
Okasha swayed with their middle son , age 2½ . The youngest , atoddler , slept in his stroller , unaware ofall the excitement .
“ I was that type of kid who always liked the unusual ,” Shalan , 32 , explains in an interview .“ Youhad never heard of asumo wrestler from Africa , the Middle East , or Egypt .”
THE RULESOFSUMO WRESTLING
Sumo isthe national sport of Japan , dating back to ancient times . While Goldman calls his New Jersey shows
“ World Championship Sumo ,” the Japan Sumo Association does not permit members toparticipate in such unsanctioned events .
Still , the principles are the same : Enormous men face off inacircular “ dohyo ” −normally made of clay and covered in sand , but ablue padded mat for the Jersey City contest . The winner is the first to force his opponent out of the ring , ortomake him touch the ground with anything but the soles ofthe feet .
“ Rikishi ,” as the wrestlers are known , push , shove and haul each other around by the waistband – anything to get an opponent off balance and out of the dohyo . Occasionally in Jersey City , the combatants careened into the front row of cheering fans .
Wrestlers receive points for their finishes in each event , and for competing in the match deemed the night ’ sbest , culminating in an overall series champion .
In his first two matches last month , Shalan needed less than 15 seconds to dispatch his opponents . In the semifinal , he wrestled his fellow countryman and former youth training partner , Kamal “ Big Kimo ” Basira . Most of the standing-room crowd seemed to be with Basira , who smiled before the bout . Shalan postured , flexing like abodybuilder being entering the circle .
After defeating Basira , the Clifton wrestler bent down and kissed the mat , then blew kisses to his wife and kids .
“ We grew uptogether . Wefought side by side ,” says Basira , who now lives in New York City .“ It ’ sabig surprise for all of us here and in Egypt .”
THE MAIN EVENT : CLIFTONVS . RUSSIA
In the best-of-three final , Shalan faced Russian Soslan Gagloev . The former pro sumo wrestler in Japan also played on the defensive line for the Webber International University football team in Florida .
In the first bout , Shalan freed up his right arm and flipped Gagloev . Inthe second , Shalan charged but the Russian stepped aside and allowedhis opponent ’ s momentum to carry himout of the dohyo . Gagloevwon the decisive third boutbytossing Shalanover theline .
“ We ’ re faithful tothe tradition of sumo , but we ’ re Sumo 2.0 ,” Goldman says .“ We ’ re bringing the energy and the athleticism and making it fun and cool to come out and watch sumo , while keeping to the traditional rules .”
OSUNAARASHI KINTARO : THE GREAT SANDSTORM IS BORN
In the sumo world , Shalan is best known as “ Osunaarashi Kintaro ,” the first African wrestler to make itasa professional in Japan .
The ring name , bestowed by Shalan ’ s original Japanese coach , translates to “ great sandstorm ” and was anod to his roots in Egypt . After ayear abroad , Shalan realized the Japanese characters that spell his actual last name also translate to “ sandstorm .”
@ waynemagazine WAYNE MAGAZINE SPRING 2024
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