Sumo-Happy hunter Asashoryu plots New Year ring return

By Alastair Himmer

TOKYO (Reuters) - Volatile grand champion Asashoryu will not return to the ring until the New Year despite being fit enough to hunt and cook wild animals in the Mongolian mountains.

The firebrand yokozuna returned to his native country for treatment to an elbow injury last month and spent 10 days living in a tent and eating wild boar, deer and wolves.

"I was just trying to survive," Asashoryu told reporters. "Out in the wild we had to catch the animals, prepare them and eat them ourselves.

"I brought some sauce for cooked meat from Japan so they really tasted good. The whole experience really helped toughen me up mentally."

The 28-year-old endured temperatures of minus 15 degrees Celsius in a bizarre rehabilitation regime that also involved him plunging into icy mountain rivers.

"The rivers were freezing," said Asashoryu, whose future has been the subject of intense speculation in the Japanese media after a series of injuries and controversies. "We just jumped in."

The Mongolian has struggled since returning to Japan's ancient sport following a ban for playing in a soccer match while claiming to have a back injury in August last year.

However, the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) said they saw nothing wrong with Asashoryu's hunting trip and insisted his injury was legitimate.