One of the highlights for early action on day 1 was Wakaichiro’s rematch against Kotosato. The two had faced off in the upper ranks of Jonidan in May, and now met again in Sandanme. In the prior match, Kotosato overpowered Wakaichiro, got inside from the tachiai and drove Wakaichiro out.
This time, in spite of another high tachiai, Wakaichiro prevailed. Kotosato pressed forward strongly from the start, and had Wakaichiro facing outside with his toes near the tawara. That could have been a fast loss for the Musashigawa rikishi, but he rallied and rolled left, neatly reversing and putting Kotosato’s heels on the bales.
I think this match is important in that it shows a new level of sumo skill for Wakaichiro, and he marks a victory over an opponent to dispatched him rather quickly last time
His Footwork here looked like some of his football background payed off.
Definitely a nice recovery at the beginning of the match from being off-balance. I’m a bit worried about that big elbow pad, though. I hope that’s nothing serious.