Who will shatter the record of 69 straight victories in the official professional sumo tournaments, which was set by hefty but handsome Futabayama in 1939? That is one of the much mooted topics in Sumodom.
    The ambition of wrestlers on the roster of the Japan Sumo Association is to break that brilliant winning streak. Grand champion Azumafuji, one of the existing three "yokozuna" grapplers, is most highly favored to realize the long-cherished dream.
    The 387 pound wrestler, heaviest in Japan, was just having his hair plaited and gathered in a knot in the center of his head when the reporter called on him.
    "My hope?" the beer-bellied wrestler said in a loud voice, "Well, it is to devote my life for the healthy development of the national sport, sumo."
    He said another hope is the realization of a barnstorming tour abroad aimed at introducing the traditional sport overseas at the earliest possible date.
    Asked about the improvement of the slow groan-grunt bouts and the time consuming ceremony, the 28 year old champion said, "We are making every possible effort to speed up the tussles by shortening the time of warm-up before each bout."
    Picking up a Hikari cigaret, he stressed the need to modernize the old sport without losing its highly competitive traditional interest.
    Azumafuji went on to say that all the wrestlers are doing their best in the ring so that sumo may regain its prewar popularity as one of the popular sports in modern times.
    He pointed out that the success in the recent sumo tourney in Osaka is indicative of the popularity of sumo among sports fans despite the inroads of such modern athletic events as baseball and rugby.
    But the chubby "yokozuna" admitted that in postwar years some sports fans have veered away from this sport tinged with tradition and historical background.
    Explaining the life of the slow-moving Goliaths of the ring, he said, "the grapplers take meals only twice a day at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Of course, our rationing is far from enough and the young fellows eat four to five "go" of rice for each meal to secure sufficient nourishment."
    He concluded by saying that his hobby is the reading of books and photography and that he is a baseball fan well aquatinted with such ace pitchers as Takehiro Bessho and Hideo Fujimoto of the Tokyo Giants pro ball team.
    In the 1950 autumn tourney, Azumafuji failed to defend his championship, finishing the scheduled 15 matches with 11 wins and four losses. But he has so far won the crown three times since he first entered Sumodom in 1936.