Ava Chan, Sumotori of the Month
Ava Chan is the current National Champion for Women’s Lightweight, and holds on to that title from the 2019 National Championships. Last year she represented the United States at the World Championships held in Osaka Japan, where she was the youngest member on the team at 18 years old. Despite her young age, Ava is a fierce competitor, and made a strong debut at the World level.
Ava started out practicing Judo when she was first introduced to Sumo. Many people get caught up in the sports intensity, with the hard hitting tachi-ai’s and intense bouts, but Ava reminds us that the beauty of the sport comes from its complexity. The sport is both a profound workout, as well as an extremely enjoyable activity. She recalls about her first practice, “Through this one practice I had realized how fun it was to be in the ring, and how great of a workout it was”.
Ava quickly realized that Sumo is unlike an other sport, as many do, in that the amount of heart and passion found within each match, as well as within each competitor, was overwhelming. In most other individual and combat sports there’s a type of mentality that flows throughout- that of looking out for number one. However, in Sumo, you find an embracing, loving family, all over the World. As Ava describes her first World Championships experience, she reveals how supportive and kind the Sumo community really is.“ I had received lots of encouraging words from coaches, teammates and family while I had been up there. Even one of the Russian coaches approached me in saying that there is a lot of potential for me to succeed in the future as well”.
This encouragement is something special in the Sumo World, and helps strengthen competitors, but Ava also talks about personal changes she’s gone through that have made her an even better athlete. She talks about holding love in her heart for the people that helped her get to where she is before engaging in each match, and how that has made her stronger and more confident. “Every time I step into the ring it is not only myself but everyone else that has pushed me to be who I am, carried on my shoulders, and I fight to make the ones that have helped me proud”. To continue making her supporters proud she says she one day hopes to be apart of a woman from the US being on the podium at the World level, showing the world that, “the United States are a force to be reckoned with”.
She encourages anyone looking to try the sport to jump in and find a club, as Sumo is not only a great workout, but also an amazing sport where you can find “…independence and teamwork”. The USSF wishes Ava the best of luck in her future Sumo en-devours, and congratulates her on all of her success so far!