In an unexpected move, star Egyptian sumotori Osunaarashi withdrew from the Kyushu tournament at the start of day 13, handing his opponent, Seiro, a fusen win, and likely the Juryo championship. At this moment, the team at Tachiai don’t have any news on why Osunaarashi withdrew, but we will bring you all the news we discover.

Osunaarashi had been a favorite to compete for the Juryo champion, and a hopeful to return to the Makuuchi top division in the January basho. Given his winning record (9-4), he will receive a nice promotion, but will likely remain in Juryo for at least one more tournament.

We wish Osunaarashi the best of luck, and hope to see him in action again soon.

Update 25 Nov, 17:00 GMT

Thanks to co-blogger Andy, there is some detail now on what caused Osunaarashi to withdraw.  Seems there has been an injury sustained to his right knee, and he has been ordered to rest for at least 28 days in hopes of repairing it.  As we have seen with Kotoshogiku and Terunofuji, damage to a rikishi’s undercarriage is serious business.  Knee injuries are difficult to treat, and difficult to heal.  So much of sumo depends on transferring power to earth via a rikishi’s legs, health of the knee join is essential.  We are all hoping Osunaarashi can recover strongly, and join the Hatsu basho in January.