A HEAVYWEIGHT teenager is heading to Japan — to become a sumo wrestler.
Nineteen-stone Nicholas Tarasenko, 15, will become only the second Briton to do so.
The 6ft 3in teen has won a scholarship at a prestigious academy where he will train with ten other sumo hopefuls.
He will have strict schedules at the Minato Beya stable, which hopes to turn him into a champion of the ring.
Nicholas will see his family only occasionally, until he has achieved his full potential.
He will also be taught to cook a Japanese soup — chankonabe — which will form part of his 7,000-calorie daily diet.
Nicholas, of Hull, East Yorks, told The Sun: “I’ve been given a chance and I intend to go as hard as possible at it. My hope is to reach the high ranks. This is what motivates me to succeed.”
He fell in love with sumo wrestling when his Estonian dad, karaoke bar owner Georgi Zilkin, 47, took him on a trip back to his homeland.
Nicholas added: “My dad had connections to a sumo wrestler who reached the highest rank in Japan and he hosts a tournament every year. I managed to win somehow. My opponents were very tough.
“From then on, I realised sumo wrestling was the sport for me.”
The last British pro sumo wrestler, Nathan Strange, from Kent, quit the sport in 1990 complaining of bullying by his Japanese stablemates.
