Goeido, Two Yokozuna Undefeated

A handful of Maegashira are having a fantastic basho, but by far the best overachiever has been Endo. Today he claimed his third Ozeki win, and did it decisively against a struggling Kotoshogiku. Ishiura continues to dominant in his makuuchi debut, with his strength and speed quite reminiscent of the late, great Chiyonofuji at times. Ishiura, if he can stay healthy, would seem to have a great future in sumo.

Goeido remains on track, but seems to have a soft road so far that ill-prepares him for what is likely to be a brutal week two, as all three Yokozuna seem to be performing well, though it seems that Harumafuji may have injured his ankle on day 1 in his loss to Tamawashi, where he was turned sideways and pushed into the crowd.

In Juryo, two notables, first off Osunaarashi remains undefeated at 4-0, and I am starting to dare hope that he has overcome his injuries enough to earn his place in Makuuchi again. Also we got to see Kotoeiko apply the Amiuchi kimarite, for fans this is a rare move that is akin to throwing a fishing net.

With day 4 in the books, we now have a shrinking set of undefeated rikishi. It’s too early the call them leaders, but they are definitely the ones to beat.

Undefeated

• Kakuryu – I am going to say the Kakuryu we want is in Kyushu. He looks focused, patent and effective. Very happy to see him in form once more
• Hakuho – He has yet to have to really put too much effort into any bout. Kaisei gave him a nice run, but it’s too early to tell if the boss is back to his pre-injury intensity.
• Goeido – Two big challenges, Takayasu and Yoshikaze, slipped and fell. With apologies to the classics, this is an “unusual athletic coincidence”. With other other Ozeki looking weak, and the Yokozuna looking strong, If Goeido is going to take a serious run at the rope, he needs every rikishi to challenge him. Each and every day, or he won’t be ready for the final exam.
• Sokokurai – He just keeps motoring ahead, very nice performance so far. I would expect his schedule to get tougher soon.

Notable Highlights

Sokokurai defeats Chiyotairyu – Quick and one sided, notable as it’s Sokokurai’s 4th consecutive win.

Hidenoumi defeats Toyohibiki – Hidenoumi finally gets a win!

Ishiura defeats Chiyootori – A win for Ishiura, he turned Chiyootori around and pushed him out from behind. For his debut basho, this guy is really cleaning up Makuuchi. I also think his schedule will get tougher soon. He has a lot to show us.

Hokutofuji defeats Ichinojo – It seems Ichinojo to have forgotten that he’s a massive sumo robot, and let Hokutofuji push him around. I begged him not to upgrade to iOS 10.

Arawashi defeats Ikioi – Ikioi finally loses his first match, and Arawashi looked good doing it. Worrisome that both men went into the cushions and were slow to get up.

Chiyoshoma defeats Takekaze – Takekaze on the receiving end of the Henka bouquet today, it’s still a waste of sumo.

Nishikigi defeats Sadanoumi – Nishikigi was in control from the start, establishing a solid left hand grip. He got Sandanoumi over the edge, but it was a sloppy match.

Takayasu defeats Okinoumi – Okinoumi started strong and delivered a huge effort for a wounded man, but Takayasu has superhuman endurance and stamina. He simply lets people wear themselves out, then he rallies and overpowers them.

Endo defeats Kotoshogiku – Endo with his third Ozeki scalp, claimed by a quick pull down of Kotoshogiku, who is looking really iffy this basho.

Goeido defeats Mitakeumi – There was trouble getting the match started, but Goeido was in control the whole time. At the tachiai he took Mitakeumi high, and kept him off balance. Goeido needs tough matches to prepare for week 2 or his Yokozuna run will fail

Terunofuji defeats Shodai – The kadoban Ozeki breaks Shodai’s winning streak. Terunofuji showed some poise and strength today. Maybe there is still hope for him.

Hakuho defeats Tamawashi – Hakuho quickly flipped Tamawashi onto his face for an easy win. The Boss has not yet really had much of a fight this basho, and I am fine with warming him up a day at a time, but it’s time to challenge him (if they can).

Kakuryu defeats Kaisei – Kakuryu is definitely engaged and fighting well in Kyushu, Kaisei was no effort for him.

Harumafuji defeats Aoiyama – Harumafuji put Aoiyama in his patented “spin cycle” twice, and Aoiyama survived both times. That fact along is quite impressive given how many rikishi are defeated that way. Aoiyama then went for a throw and collapsed. Both me were slow to get up, with Harumafuji now having trouble with the right ankle that took a twist during his day 1 loss.