IF YOU'RE planning on taking up sumo wrestling, make sure you have a men-only first aid team on hand in case of any injuries.
That's the advice being given to prospective fighters in Japan, where last week female paramedics were ordered from a sumo ring when they tried to help an official who collapsed while giving a speech.
Ryozo Tatami, mayor of Maizuru city, was welcoming fighters and the audience to a tournament when he fainted in the ring.
Traditionally women are banned from walking on the "sacred" ring, and the first responding ladies were ordered from the fighting area by a referee who was later disciplined by the head of Japan's sumo association.
Nobuyoshi Hakkaku said it was an "inappropriate act in a situation that involves one's life...we deeply apologise".
Adding insult to injury, some spectators were outraged when salt was thrown into the area where the women went - an act used to purify the space - which some interpreted as implying the women had "dirtied" the wrestling ring.
The mayor was taken to hospital after the incident and is reportedly in a stable condition, according to the BBC.
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