Sumo champ Asashoryu debuts as fashion model

Modeling a teenager's school uniform, yokozuna Asashoryu entertained a crowd of 20,000 mostly teenage girls at a fashion show in Tokyo on Sunday.

Loin cloth optional: Yokozuna Asashoryu walks on a runway Sunday as a model for Shibuya Girls Collection in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. KYODO PHOTO

The burly sumo champion danced to loud music with female and male models at the event, called Shibuya Girls Collection, at Yoyogi National Gymnasium.

"I felt a kind of tension that was new to me," said an excited Asashoryu, who is more accustomed to sumo match pressure. "The shrill voices were also impressive," the yokozuna added.

Asashoryu's turn in a school uniform was a reference to his appearance as a junior high school student in a recent TV commercial film promoting a beverage.

His appearance in the show, however, stirred fresh controversy over his behavior. The highest-ranking wrestler, Asashoryu skipped training for the day in the runup to the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament starting next Sunday, prompting some sports newspapers to blast him in their Monday editions.