Thanks to the wonder that is YouTube, we have a video of Wakaichiro’s day 2 match. As you can see, he was a bit ragged and all over the dohyo. His first match was against Rao, who won the Jonidan yusho in Nagoya, so this was always going to be a challenging start.
We expect Wakaichiro back in action on day 4 for his second bout.
Not sure how I feel about his chuckling and smiling after this bout. Sure, one might as well be light hearted after such a poor performance but this is the real deal and determination matters. Is he being hard enough on himself? How serious is Wakaichiro? His last match in the last basho displayed real drive and determination. I want to see that rikishi every single match! Let’s rev it up, Mr. Young!!
I’m always glad to see someone having fun out there.
Some people actually do better in competitions if they can keep it light. And having a light hearted demeanor does not mean you are not giving your all.
The expression you’re seeing is Wakaichiro realizing he made a mistake, but he still had the right idea. He should have lost the match the first time he was spun around, but he prevented it from happening two more times before falling which is pretty impressive.
Wakaichiro was game, but I did notice that every time that the side where his bandaged elbow and knee needed to be used that’s when he was turned around and he had to spin again to face forward. I’m worried that he has elbow issues (this is the second basho where he’s had that elbow wrap on) or something’s up with his knees.
What’s good to see is that he’s not only a quick thinker to change strategies, but also that he has the agility to realign his stance when he’s out of position.