Hakuho has now pulled even with Chiyonofuji’s 1045 career wins. Next stop is Kaio at 1047.
Month: July 2017
Nagoya Day 9 Highlights
Let The Crazy Train Roll
Where to start with day 9? Possibly one of the most engaging and topsy-turvy days of sumo in a while. If you are the type that does not want “spoilers” before you watch it on TV, best to turn back now.
Ok, we will start with last night’s preview! I do a paragraph on Juryo 5 Asanoyama – seems like he is really chugging along, and he dropped his bout with Kaisei. My apologies to Asanoyama if the sudden, unexpected write up somehow doomed him. At least he secured his kachi-koshi before then. This puts him even with Yutakayama, who won his match today, in the Juryo yusho race.
Day 9 – if you can find it on Youtube, it’s worth seeing in addition to whatever NHK will try to shoe horn into 20 minutes. The Makuuchi was wall to wall amazement, and it’s a shame that those of us in the West are limited on days like today. Start with Kintamayama’s day 9, I advise.
Highlight Matches
Takarafuji defeats Nishikigi – Nishikigi owned this one from the tachiai, but it seems he made a small mistake just as he was taking Takarafuji to the edge, and Takarafuji exploited that mistake and tossed Nishikigi out. Nice okuridashi.
Chiyomaru defeats Shohozan – A real slug fest, they broke contact a couple of times to glare at each other, and launched back into the fray. Chiyomaru managed to pull down Shohozan as he was chasing him.
Aoiyama defeats Chiyonokuni – Originally the gumbai was pointed at Chiyonokuni, but a monoii was called, and the shimpan noticed that Chiyonokuni’s right foot was out as he cocked the throw that won. Chiyonokuni gets a bloody nose for his prize. Aoiyama secures his kachi-koshi, and first class ticket to punching bag status in upper Maegashira for Aki.
Ishiura defeats Takanoiwa – Sadly, Takanoiwa has now secured his make-koshi, but boy did Ishiura look good handing it to him. There is no way of knowing what kept Ishiura in “neutral” for the first few days in Nagoya, but he certainly seems to be on his sumo now.
Ikioi defeats Hokutofuji – Ikioi has been as lack luster as his 2-7 record would indicate, until today. He was crisp, focused and took Hokutofuji to the clay like he knows sumo. I hope this Ikioi sticks around for the rest of the basho, the other one was boring.
Tochinoshin defeats Shodai – Why Shodai? Did you really want a contest of strength against this lumberjack guy? Shodai conceded to a mawashi battle and was doomed from the start. Tochinoshin looks to have overcome his knee problems to once again be somewhat formidable.
Mitakeumi defeats Kotoshogiku – One.. Two.. Henka! Mitakeumi deftly side steps the Kyushu Bulldozer for an easy win. I dig the new NHK “Henka Cam” mode.
Tamawashi defeats Takakeisho – To me this looked like the sequel to Takakeisho’s match with Hakuho. Lots of tsuppari, some taunting, breaking contact and in the end a miserable defeat. Takakeisho will be back in a tournament or two, better and stronger than before. This is just his welcome to the joi-jin parade.
Yoshikaze defeats Takayasu – Takayasu seemed completely unprepared for Yoshikaze’s attack. True to form the Berserker led with his face, but got inside Takayasu immediately, and took control before the big Ozeki could plant his feet and battle back. Very nice win, but drops Takayasu to 7-2.
Chiyoshoma defeats Goeido – A mighty Goeido 2.0 tachiai directly into Chiyoshoma’s too slow attempt to side step the charge. Chiyoshoma somehow managed to convert this mess of a start into a twisting throw at the bales. The shimpan called a monoii, but footage showed Goeido landing a split second before Chiyoshoma.
URA DEFEATS HARUMAFUJI – The Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium explodes with fanfare as crowd favorite Ura finds a way to wrangle the master of winning by speed into the clay. It happens so fast, multiple replays in slow motion are required to take it in. This is Ura’s first kinboshi, and he is clearly overwhelmed. In the post bout interview, he does lose his grip and starts crying. I think even Harumafuji wondered how he did that.
Hakuho defeats Kagayaki – Not quite as good an effort from Kagayaki today, but it looks to me like he lost his footing on the the clay. I will update the Hakuho meter later today, but he is now tied with Chiyonofuji’s 1045 all time win mark. Three more to go and another lofty mark belongs to the Boss.
Wakaichiro Loses Day 9 Match
During the morning bouts in Nagoya, American Sumotori Wakaichiro (若一郎) lost his rematch against Kenshin. This drops his record to 3-2. Wakaichirio still needs one more win to secure his kachi-koshi. We anticipate his next bout will come day 11, though the details won’t be published until tomorrow.
Nagoya Day 9 Preview
Juryo 5 Asanoyama (朝乃山)
Another Day Of Rising Stars.
Within the next couple of days, we are likely to start the part of the schedule that focuses on matches between the remaining Ozeki and Yokozuna. But before that, we get a nice opportunity for more of these crazy “what if” matches to take place. I don’t expect either Ura or Kagayaki to really change the score for the yusho race, but it’s amazing to see these two young rikishi go flat out in a bid to make their mark.
Thus far, the Nagoya basho has been extremely entertaining, and packed with some great sumo. Readers will recall that I had my worries about Juryo by this time last basho. Sadly most folks in the west don’t get much exposure to Juryo, as it is not shown as part of the NHK highlight shows. But there is an entire additional division below Makuuchi, which you can think of as a farm team for Makuuchi. Juryo is actually quite exciting right now, as rikishi Asanoyama (朝乃山) is undefeated and already has his kachi-koshi. He joined sumo from Kinki University, and has only been in sumo for 9 basho. He took the Makushita at new years, and is tearing up Juryo this tournament, after tying for the Juryo yusho in Osaka. He stands a decent chance to contend for the Juryo again this basho, and we may see him Makuuchi soon. Below is a video of his day 8 match against Kyokushuho
In the Makuuchi yusho race, it seems only the Ozeki and Harmuafuji face any chance of throwing a loss to Hakuho, and both a Hakuho yusho and zensho are quite possible now. So we wait to see when the Hakuho – Takayasu match turns up, representing the best chance to make the yusho completive.
Nagoya Leader board
Leader – Hakuho
Chasers – Takayasu, Aoiyama
Hunt Group – Harumafuji, Onosho, Chiyotairyu, Takarafuji
7 Matches Remain
What We Are Watching Day 9
Takarafuji vs Nishikigi – Takarafuji has not made many of the highlight shows broadcast in the west, but the rikishi with no neck has been really turning in the wins, and deserves some closer coverage. Currently at 6-2, he goes up against a resurgent Nishikigi. I am expecting both of these rikishi to have solid kachi-koshi records and be mid level Maegashira for Aki. This will only be their second match up, with their first going to Takarafuji.
Arawashi vs Sokokurai – I am very happy to see Arawashi apparently over his injuries that kept him from top form during Natsu, and back with some excellent sumo. Sadly Sokokurai is struggling, and may continue to beg for wins.
Chiyotairyu vs Kotoyuki – Kotoyuki is headed back to Juryo, and was talking to himself today. Never a good sign. Chiyotairyu is quite solid this basho, and is looking for a strong finish. Much like Natsu, I expect a handful of lower Maegashira to approach or achieve 10 win records, and be nominated for a beat down in the joi in September.
Aoiyama vs Chiyonokuni – Speaking of the Aki bruise and ache club, Aoiyama is one shy of kachi-koshi now, and may be able to lock up his majority wins against Chiyonokuni. There are significant logistical and mechanical problems to fighting someone the size and geometry of Aoiyama. If you don’t get inside of him fast and apply torsion to his upper torso (aka a Tokyo Twister), he tends to pummel you senseless with those giant fleshy arms, all the while hypnotizing you with his pendulous man-boobs. Whatever you do, Chiyonokuni – don’t look.
Okinoumi vs Onosho – Okinoumi seems to have gotten in his grove and is at least putting up a good contest, but at the moment Onosho refuses to lose. So I am guessing this may go fast. This is their first meeting, and I am sure that Onosho is going to open hard and fast. Hopefully he keeps his eyes on Okinoumi, as the veteran might be wise to consider a full or mini-henka.
Shodai vs Tochinoshin – Shodai’s closing move on his day 8 match may have escaped fans, but it was very careful and quite precise. I tend to give Shodai a hard time because of his tachiai, but he is a solid sumotori in so many other areas. A chest-to-chest battle with Tochinoshin won’t be to Shodai’s advantage, so I will be curious to see what strategy he employs.
Kotoshogiku vs Mitakeumi – These two have split their 6 prior matches, and it’s bound to be a good fight this time. Ojisan Kotoshogiku seems to have found some energy, and is actually putting up some decent sumo now. Mitakeumi is likely smarting from his day 8 loss (he even landed hard). I expect Mitakeumi to be fired up and for the Kyushu Bulldozer to move fast to control the match and keep Mitakeumi from a run-and-gun strategy, which favors him.
Tamawashi vs Takakeisho – Tamawashi is teetering on the edge of getting into losing territory. He wants to make a strong case to begin Ozeki consideration, and he needs to win from here on out to do that. Takakeisho has been getting pounded daily, and everyone expected that. But Takakeisho mounts the dohyo and gives it all each time, which tells us he will be back, and more prepared next time. His romper room special with Hakuho seems to have not damaged his confidence, which I was fairly sure it would not. Seriously folks, these sumotori are physically and mentally tough people. Heya life is rough, and its a very Darwinistic culture.
Takayasu vs Yoshikaze – Evenly matched by their prior bouts. Sadly this is probably the match where Yoshikaze’s face starts bleeding daily as Takayasu has become very fond of forearm smashes at the tachiai. Yoshikaze seems to be a notch lower in intensity than the first 5 days, and I seriously worry he is hurt.
Ura vs Harumafuji – We all know that Harumafuji is going to win handily, but like his match with Hakuho, I think we are going to see Ura make “The Horse” work for it. Their first match, and it will likely be fast.
Hakuho vs Kagayaki – After standing up manfully to Harumafuji, Kagayaki draws an appointment with “The Boss”. I am certain of a Hakuho win (to tie Chiyonofuji’s all time win score of 1045), but how long can Kagayaki stay in the match? The man in gold is about to find out.