Every Match Has Interest Today
Much has been said here on Tachiai as well as other sumo media about some of the excitement around this Nagoya basho. There is a lot of fresh blood in the top half of Maegashira, Hakuho looks to be back to fighting form, and there is a new Ozeki in town. On day one of any basho, the possibilities are wide open, but I feel more so for this tournament. It’s at times like this that I wish there were a way to get the full NHK English program (2 hours) without going through strange gyrations and whole house rewiring. But most likely we will be limited to what matches NHK World can squeeze into the 20 minute highlight show.
Matches We Like
Nishikigi vs Kotoyuki – Kotoyuki ended Natsu on a really sour note. He was clearly injured and was just barely getting up on the dohyo daily. Nishikigi is back after one tournament in Juryo, and it’s time to see if he has improved. Nishikigi holds a 2-1 career edge.
Sadanoumi vs Sokokurai – This one should be all Sokokurai, but their last meet up (also on day 1 of the May basho) saw Sadanoumi deliver a convincing oshidashi.
Chiyonokuni vs Shohozan – Chiyonokuni was drop-kicked down the banzuke after a miserable turn as Maegashira 1. Now bottom feeding at Maegashira 11, he goes up against “Big Guns” Shohozan, who holds a 5-1 career advantage.
Tokushoryu vs Ishiura – Only one prior match between them, and it went to Ishiura. Tokushoryu has bulk, height and reach on Ishiura, so if Ishiura wants to take their second career meeting, he is going to do it via speed and technique.
Ichinojo vs Tochiozan – Tochiozan had a great basho in Osaka, and then fizzled at Natsu. Ichinojo is hit or miss, so it’s time to see if the big Mongolian is healthy and ready to compete. Tochiozan holds a 6-3 career advantage.
Chiyoshoma vs Kagayaki – Kagayaki is probably a bit uncomfortable with his significant lift up the banzuke, and he starts Nagoya facing off against veteran Chiyoshoma. Chiyoshoma had a miserable Natsu, but was not demoted nearly as much as might be expected based on his 5-10 record. If Kagayaki is going to be able to put up much of a contest at his new rank, this may be a good early indicator.
Ura vs Endo – One of the big matches of the day. Two crowd favorites face off for the very first time. I expect Endo to go for a straight ahead bout, and Ura is going to try something creative. May not last long.
Tamawashi vs Ikioi – Tamawashi is coming in with a lot of buzz about him being ready to take his sumo to the next level. While we all hope that Rikishi can continue to excel, he gets to try it out on Ikioi first. Tamawashi leads 8-4 over their careers, but that’s not going to stop Ikioi from trying to blast him into space from the tachiai.
Takayasu vs Hokutofuji – Another highlight match. This is the first meeting between these two, and it could be quite exciting. Both have similar approaches to their sumo. So I am looking for Hokutofuji to prevent Takayasu from getting his preferred grip, and try to coax him into pulling for a hatakikomi or similar move. This is always Takayasu’s weakness, and I pray he just fights moving forward.
Tochinoshin vs Goeido – From the scratch and dent bin, we get two rikishi who are capable of great sumo, but frequently under-achieve. I will be looking for Goeido to go for a massive offense straight from the tachiai.
Terunofuji vs Takakeisho – Takakeisho’s baptism by fire. Welcome to upper Makuuchi kid! Here, have a match with the kaiju! It will be entertaining to see what Takakeisho does in reaction to Terunofuji. Maybe a henka?
Shodai vs Kakuryu – Big K holds a 4-0 advantage in the series, so I am going to look for a strong but high tachiai from Shodai, with Kakuryu using his energy to move him toward the tawara.
Kisenosato vs Mitakeumi – There are a lot of great matches today, and this could be worthy of note. We will find out if Kisenosato is still a one armed man, and we will see if Mitakeumi was sandbagging during the last few days of training.
Yoshikaze vs Harumafuji – There is no love lost here. Last year in Nagoya their bout became a street brawl that left blood on the dohyo. Career wise, Harumafuji leads only by 9-8, and Yoshikaze tends to beat kinboshi out of Harumafuji.
Hakuho vs Kotoshogiku – We get to see Hakuho launch into his march towards the all time win goal with his bout against an ailing and aging Kotoshogiku. I am not sure about you, but watching Kotoshogiku fight now is kind of sad to me.