Sporting Digest: Sumo

THE BAN on women in sumo rings was reiterated by Dewanoumi, the chairman of Japan's Sumo Association, after charges of sexual discrimination. Ryoko Akamatsu, the new education minister, was critical of the decision to refuse to allow her predecessor, also a woman, to present a government trophy to the winner of a tournament. The association maintains that a female presence in the ring would be tantamount to sacrilege.