From Kadoban to Yusho – Zensho Achieved (First in history)
Before the start of the Aki basho two weeks ago, I mockingly referred to Goeido and Kotoshogiku as the “Kadoban Twins”. Frankly both of their performance had been spotty and uneven, and I frankly predicted at least one of them would fail to achieve a winning record and would be demoted.
I was wrong
In one of the great redemption and come back stories in sports, Goeido came into Aki in danger of losing sumo’s second highest ranking, and drove himself relentlessly in every match. As noted before in Tachiai, his all out commitment to his offensive moves was dramatic, more like Hakuho, than what has been typical for Goeido of late.
On his march to total victory, he has shown surprising versatility in his winning moves, and an absolute fearless approach to sumo. The fans have loved it, as it was clear that Goeido was going to settle for nothing less than a win on every day. I sincerely hope that Goeido can maintain this level of sumo, as it is really quite thrilling to watch. After so many years of the Japanese sumo fans yearning for strong performance from someone other than Mongolians, they may have finally found a worthy champion.
List Of Victories – Aki Basho
- Day 1 – Tochinoshin
- Day 2 – Shodai
- Day 3 – Tochiozan
- Day 4 – Takanoiwa
- Day 5 – Takarafuji
- Day 6 – Takayasu
- Day 7 – Okinoumi
- Day 8 – Yoshikaze
- Day 9 – Aoiyama
- Day 10 – Terunofuji
- Day 11 – Kisenosato
- Day 12 – Kakuryu
- Day 13 – Harumafuji
- Day 14 – Tamawashi
- Day 15 – Kotoshogiku
Some facts about Goeido’s win, harvested from nikkansports.com:
- Only the 8th time in history and kadoban Ozeki has won a tournament
- First time ever a kadoban Ozeki has won undefeated – zensho yusho
- First time in 86 years a rikishi from Osaka has won a tournament.
- Only Harumafuji, Hakuho and now Goeido, out of the current sekitori, have won with a perfect record.
The video below of his win day 14 over Tamawashi, and the reaction of the crowd says it all. Congratulations to Goeido, your performance during Aki has been incredible.
I really hope he can maintain this level of sumo. And it’s great to see Endo back with some swagger.
One of the things that kept running through my mind – did Goeido go out on tour with Jungyo, or did he just stay back and focus like a madman on training? The evolution from Nagoya to Aki was startling, and I really am curious what he did in those two months to make that kind of difference. I am sure someone has written that up in the Japanese sumo press, but I have yet to stumble across that article.
You know who I really want to focus on in November? Kisenosato. The pressure is off of him now, and in fact he has pretty much lost face. Is he the guy who will shrink to the corners and fade, or is he going to “hulk out”. I suspect he will come back fiercely.
I am a big fan of Takayasu, but he faded the last 3 days. I would not feel slighted if they left him at Sekiwake for a couple more tournaments to season. Plus we need to open up an Ozeki slot for him, and neither of the former “Kadoban Twins” are going to do it.
We were fortunate enough to see Goeido win on day 11 and after returning to Australia have checked results everyday. Fantastic result – 15-0.
You were in the Kokugikan for day 11? That was an amazing day of sumo to be sure! I think it was probably one of the more exciting days of any tournament this year. What was the crowd like when Takayasu defeated Harumafuji? Only getting a short “highlight reel” in the US from NHK World, it’s sometimes really tough to know the reactions to big matches.
Huge respect to Goeido for an amazing tournament.
I’m not a big fan of Gôeidô but I must admit that his interview after day 14 was really, really moving… he also fought really hard against his emotions !