Tochinoshin used his brief break from training to head home to Georgia. At the airport he was greeted to a very warm welcome from his fans. In the interview he acknowledged the re-injury to his knee after Day 10, making that final win that much tougher to get…especially after getting robbed of an important win against eventual yusho winner, Asanoyama. He was obviously still able to gamberize and win back the Ozeki rank. Will he be able to move forward and claim his second career yusho?

Thank you to Adjara Sport for sharing and translating this great background video, as well. Their site has a great page featuring more of their sumo coverage, and several interviews in Georgian with Tochinoshin during his recent trip and from before, including this one of a very young, 17 year old Levan. “一所懸命練習します。” With this break from touring, as there’s no jungyo in June, his knees may have gotten the rest and rehab “kneeded” to be ready for Nagoya.

As Bruce mentioned, the health of our Ozeki corps is a concern as we see how long this cohort of four Ozeki will stay together. Herouth noted Takayasu’s absence from events while Takakeisho is slowly returning to training after his kyojo-kadoban Natsu.

Compatriot Gagamaru isn’t forgotten on the Adjara site, and features in this long interview here at the end of last tournament where his 9-6 record puts him in striking distance of a return to the top division. There are also some great general interest sumo videos and highlights.