A sumo gym chief who beat wrestlers with a golf club has got a severe dressing down in the latest twist to a year of scandal for the ancient Japanese sport.
Local media are reporting that Kasugano beat three young wrestlers for breaking a curfew and not wearing traditional kimono outside.
Kasugano admits he went too far hitting them with a golf club and says he won't raise a fist to them again.
It tops another embarrassing year for sumo, after the sport was pulled from television and banned after government pressure following a damaging match-fixing scandal.
Lengthy charge sheets leading to mass sackings and even arrests and convictions in gambling, drug use, gang crime and assault cases have plagued the sports in recent years.
