Overnight, the big news was that Yokozuna Hakuho withdrew from competition. The notification came quite late in the day, and took many by surprise. According to sources, he strained his right knee warming up prior to his day 2 bout, and the problems have been increasing ever sense. Thanks to Herouth for posting about it while the US part of the Tachiai team were snug in our beds.

Hakuho fans will note that he has yet to win a yusho in 2018, and for the most dominant man in the history of sumo, this is a big deal. With just 2 tournaments remaining, the chances that “The Boss” will pick up yusho #41 are fading for this year. The biggest benefactor from this unfortunate turn of evens is clearly Goeido. With his loss today, he drops to 2-2 and is looking rather shaky. His week 2 fight card just went from 2 Yokozuna and 2 Ozeki, all of which were likely to beat him, to 1 Yokozuna and 2 Ozeki. Frankly, for Goeido this could be the difference between clearing kadoban or not.

Highlight Matches

Meisei defeats Hokutofuji – Meisei wins his first match of the basho going yotzu against Hokutofuji. At this level of the banzuke, Hokutofuji should normally be cleaning up, but that massive bandage on his right leg probably tells the story. Hopefully he can get his body repaired, as he has a huge amount of potential.

Takagenji defeats Ishiura – Visiting Juryoist Takagenji dismantles Ishiura’s chicanery for a fairly convincing win, which is also his first to the tournament as well as his first win in Makuuchi!

Ryuden defeats Asanoyama – Asanoyama had a good tachiai, but Ryuden quickly reached for, and obtained a solid left hand deep grip which he converted to a mae-mitsu after turning Asanoyama around. Ryuden was completely dominant in this match, and seems to have cleared his earlier ring rust successfully.

Tochiozan defeats Onosho – Tochiozan very effectively contained Onosho’s offense, and kept him from really setting up any attack. Onosho drove for, and got, inside Tochiozan. But Tochiozan used his close position to keep Onosho from really getting a solid stance, or any effective thrusting room. I am going to guess Onosho’s knee is still not quite good enough for full power sumo. Plus – no red mawashi.

Nishikigi defeats Chiyomaru – Another strong showing from Nishikigi today. I do like the fact that he’s just driving forward every day, and it seems to be working for him. Chiyomaru continues the the slide that started in Osaka, and we have to wonder if maybe his body is too big for his sumo. (fixed)

Chiyoshoma defeats Kyokutaisei – Battle of the no-win rikishi, with Chiyoshoma coming out on top. The bout was a oshi-match, and it was Kyokutaisei who lost his balance first, and Chiyoshoma pulled him to the clay.

Chiyotairyu defeats Endo – Chiyotairyu attacks with a massive cannon ball tachiai, which Endo absorbs well, and as Endo advances he reaches deep with his right hand for Chiyotairyu’s mawashi. Chiyotairyu reads this perfectly, and routes Endo’s energy forward and away. Clean, solid technique win from Chiyotairyu.

Takarafuji defeats Yoshikaze – a protracted battle of the purple mawashi set, it was a struggle for grip that saw Yoshikaze too far forward most of the time, and finished by Takarafuji’s pull down from his grip on the back of Yoshikaze’s mawashi.

Kaisei defeats Kagayaki – Outstanding yotsu battle. When Kaisei landed morozashi, it was clear how this was going to end, but Kagayaki kept battling on. I still think Kagayaki has a lot of potential, and he continues to make steady if gradual progress.

Takakeisho defeats Daishomaru – Takakeisho looked a bit early into the tachiai, and Daishomaru was a half step behind from the start. Daishomaru could not set up an effective defense or counter to Takakeisho’s forceful forward pressure.

Shohozan defeats Ichinojo – “Big Guns” Shohozan picks up his first win of the basho, and it’s clear that Ichinojo is not at all genki right now. Ichinojo traded face blows with Shohozan, but seemed to offer little resistance once Shohozan started to advance.

Mitakeumi defeats Tamawashi – Mitakeumi launched strong and low into Tamawashi, who went for the immediate nodowa to try to raise him up. Tamawashi continued to focus on Mitakeumi’s face and shoulders, while Mitakeumi focused on center mass and moving forward. Tamawashi was unable to hold back Mitakeumi’s forward pressure, and it was over in a hurry. Mitakeumi is finally looking very solid, and we may see him finally reach double digits.

Tochinoshin defeats Abi – Abi looked like a spider on a hot plate as he frantically danced about to keep Tochinoshin away from his mawashi. After his traditional double arm thrust at the tachiai, the match devolved into chaos. At this level of the banzuke, Abi is not making much headway with his antics.

Takayasu defeats Shodai – Takayasu delivers his no obligatory enormous shoulder blast from the tachiai, which almost tossed Shodai out of the ring on its own. Is it sumo? Maybe in Japan. To me this looks like bumper-cars.

Kotoshogiku defeats Goeido – A dreaded kuroboshi for the kadoban Goeido. Kotoshogiku took early control and pushed Goeido backward to the tawara, where the Ozeki managed to rally and advance. Goeido tried a trip, failed, rotated into a throw, failed, then slipped and broke his grip. Kotoshogiku responded in the blink of an eye and thrust Goeido to the clay.

Ikioi defeats Kakuryu – Ikioi hits strong at the tachiai, and goes hazuoshi (armpit attack) at once. This seems to destabilize the Yokozuna, and Ikioi moves forward strongly, keeping his hips low. Kakuryu breaks contact, but before he can dodge, Ikioi charges center-mass and launches the Yokozuna off the dohyo. Great sumo from Ikioi today, well earned Kinboshi, and the purple rain falls in Nagoya.