Our fears were justified. Word trickled in during the early bouts that Takakeisho would be absent due to a neck injury suffered during last night’s bout with Ichinojo. The injury itself wasn’t too scary, it seemed a rather normal tachiai at the start. But Takakeisho’s reaction, the “what just happened?” stare as he rode Ichinojo’s shoulder out of the ring and then collapsed in a heap, the sumo fan world hopes he will be okay. This injury is not one which will see him make a quick comeback in the second half of the tournament. He will be kadoban next tournament.
The other big story of the day is the return of Takayasu after missing the first two days due to a back injury suffered in practice last week. He is nominally on an ozeki run, but odds on that are just about 0 as he spotted the field a two-win headstart. He’s not mathematically out as 13-2 has been good enough for a yusho lately and would put him right on the 33-win yardstick/rule-of-thumb we fans use (but isn’t really a rule). At this point, he’s probably just thinking that he needs to perform. If he is to become Ozeki, he’s got a solid start to a run but may need another strong tournament after this one…but he still needs this to be a strong tournament. Otherwise, his hopes are likely dashed.
Highlights
Ichiyamamoto (2-1) defeated Yutakayama (2-1): Ichiyamamoto established his style sumo from the outset, blasting Yutakayama about the head and shoulders. Then going for the slapdown win. Hatakikomi.
Chiyonokuni (2-1) defeated Ishiura (0-3): High energy tsuppari from both rikishi. Ishiura cornered Chiyonokuni against the tawara but could not establish any force which would move Chiyonokuni back and out. Instead, Chiyonokuni continued blasting with tsuppari and slapped Ishiura down. Hatakikomi.
Tsurugisho (3-0) defeated Tokushoryu (2-1): Tsurugisho blasted Tokushoryu at the tachiai and did not relent. Despite failing with the early slapdown attempt, Tokushoryu was overwhelmed, and quickly exited, stage right. Yorikiri.
Daiamami (1-2) defeated Chiyonoo (1-2): Daiamami turned things around and picked up his first win with a straight forward force out. Four bouts, four overpowered opponents. Chiyonoo offered token resistance as Daiamami established a grip with both hands on Chiyonoo’s belt and backed him out. Yorikiri.
Ura (2-1) defeated Chiyomaru (1-2): Chiyomaru went for the early slapdown. After the initial flourish, the two settled into a grapple. For Ura, this was a waiting game. Ura slapped Chiyomaru’s arm down and as Chiyomaru tried to recover, Ura pressed forward with his attack. With both arms around Chiyomaru’s girth, Ura used his low position to keep Chiyomaru high, and backed him out. Yorikiri.
Kagayaki (2-1) defeated Tochinoshin (0-3): As Kagayaki moved forward, Tochinoshin tried to force Kagayaki down. Kagayaki powered through and pushed Tochinoshin out easily. This start does not bode well for Tochinoshin. Oshidashi.
Kotonowaka (3-0) defeated Terutsuyoshi (1-2): Kotonowaka broke the pattern and forced Terutsuyoshi down at the tachiai for the quickest win so far. As Terutsuyoshi moved forward, Kotonowaka attacked his shoulders from above and shoved. Hikiotoshi.
Kaisei (1-2) defeated Shimanoumi (1-2): Shimanoumi launched out with a strong initial charge but Kaisei moved forward with his powerful upperbody attack. Shimanoumi’s weak slap did not slow Kaisei at all as he thrust Shimanoumi out. Tsukidashi.
Tamawashi (3-0) defeated Hidenoumi (1-2): Tamawashi forced Hidenoumi back to the edge with tsuppari and a strong nodowa. However, Hidenoumi resisted at the edge. As he rotated and cornered Tamawashi, Tamawashi’s tsuppari morphed into an armbreaker. Tamawashi pivoted with the pressure on Hidenoumi’s shoulder forcing him down and out. Kotenage.
Takarafuji (1-2) defeated Aoiyama (1-2): Aoiyama was the aggressor, battering Takarafuji and pushing forward. The V-twin seemed stuck in second gear, however. At the edge, Takarafuji twisted and threw Aoiyama down. Sukuinage.
Myogiryu (1-2) defeated Chiyoshoma (2-1): After a matta, we got a brawl from a pair of Tasmanian Devils, circling around the ring, battering each other with slaps. Chiyoshoma let up and pulled but Myogiryu bulled forward through the attempted slap down, sending both men crashing into the shimpan. Myogiryu was a bit slow to get up and could not really squat well to acknowledge his victory. Myogiryu got his first win but it may have come at great cost. Oshitaoshi.
Halftime break: Someone open a window! It’s a bit stuffy in here…and what’s that smell? Hopefully someone can clear the air there in Dolphins Arena. Time to head to the fridge for some coffee.
Kiribayama (2-1) defeated Onosho (1-2): We started out with a brawl and as Onosho chased Kiribayama around the ring, Kiribayama had enough and wrapped up Onosho. “I’m tired of this oshi-tsuki stuff.” A solid right-hand grip from Kiribayama on Onosho’s belt and he ushered Onosho back and over the edge. Yorikiri.
Okinoumi (2-1) defeated Hoshoryu (2-1): Okinoumi valiantly resisted the early throw and turned the tables with his own attack. Okinoumi attempted to crush Hoshoryu, bringing all of his weight and force down on his opponent. Hoshoryu would not go down easy. Concern for Hoshoryu’s knee as it seemed to buckle as Okinoumi rolled Hoshoryu over. Makiotoshi.
Kotoeko (2-1) defeated Chiyotairyu (1-2): INASU. Where’d he go? Chiyotairyu pressed forward but Kotoeko vanished in thin air, reappearing behind Chiyotairyu. Well, that’s how it would have appeared for Chiyotairyu. Kotoeko shifted beautifully as Chiyotairyu charged forward. Kotoeko dodged, got in behind, and then gently pushed Chiyotairyu out for the easy oshidashi.
Wakatakakage (1-2) defeated Tobizaru (1-2): Wakatakakage pushed Tobizaru back at the tachiai, getting Tobizaru to stand vertically. Then, Wakatakakage pulled down hard on Tobizaru’s shoulders, forcing him down. Hikiotoshi.
Mitakeumi (2-1) defeated Hokutofuji (2-1): Big man sumo here. Hokutofuji pressed forward, squeezing hard on Mitakeumi’s left arm with his right as he tried to prevent Mitakeumi from getting inside. When backed to the edge, Mitakeumi got inside, got the belt grip and launched forward. Yet again, the tawara offered enough resistance to stop the pair from going out and the two settled into a grapple. As Mitakeumi crab walked Hokutofuji to the edge, Hokutofuji tried a last-minute twisting throw but Mitakeumi powered through, forcing Hokutofuji out. Both were slow to get up, and I don’t think either saw which direction the gunbai pointed. Yorikiri.
Takayasu (1-0-2) defeated Ichinojo (2-1): Takayasu weathered the storm from Ichinojo. I don’t think Ichinojo has quite figured out the art of tsuppari. He can grab and throw but he’s not a brawler. He tried a kotenage but Takayasu escaped and pivoted. So as the pair travelled coast-to-coast, Ichinojo tired. Takayasu pressed forward and forced him out. Yorikiri.
Meisei (1-2) fusen win over Takakeisho (1-2): As Bruce feared, Takakeisho is done for the tournament with a scary neck injury suffered during his bout with Ichinojo. We hope hope this injury is not a longer term concern. The sumo world awaits news on the severity of the injury.
Terunofuji (3-0) defeated Takanosho (0-3): An exciting, evenly matched, back-and-forth bout. The match was really two bouts, a fast-paced brawl that ended in stalemate, and a patient waiting game that ended with a beautiful throw. The video below, though, only catches the ending. It picks up as both men needed to recover from the exertion from running around, so they gathered at the center, heads together, waiting. Terunofuji, with a flick, put an end to the suspense. Terunofuji took Takanosho by the hand and rolled him over. Kainahineri.
Endo (1-2) defeated Shodai (2-1): That was not Ozeki sumo. What was that? Endo hit with a solid shoulder at the tachiai. As Shodai came in high…and apparently wanted to get higher?!?! Shodai peeked up like he was going to go up and over Endo. But Endo had no time to wait for Shodai to figure out what he wanted to do, or to call his ACME sales rep, so he ducked to the side and the “Ozeki” stumbled forward. Endo then finished him off thrusting him down. Tsukiotoshi.
Hakuho (3-0) defeated Daieisho (0-3): Harite, then a shoulder blast at the tachiai. Hakuho caught Daieisho by the shoulder and spun him down. Geez, he’s a master technician. We can see that he’s walking a bit gingerly, he sure can’t put the weight of two men on that leg but this was no contest. Wham, bam, thank you bodyslam. Sukuinage.
To me, the Takakeisho situation sounds very serious. A herniated disc in the cervical spine, and resulting nerve impingements affecting his arms.
It is certainly not a 1 month recovery. Think about the basics of rehabilitation from pain / sciatica from a lumbar spine herniated disc: rest, identifying and removing triggers (tachiai and compression in head to body clashes), corrective and strengthening exercises, ingraining new movement patterns, safely loading those new movement patterns.
How can you achieve that when your whole sport revolves around routinely compressing your neck while crashing into others?
Clearly his previous collapse where he couldn’t move his arm stemmed from the same nerve impingement from that disc herniation.
You worry that if he continues to do this he could suffer permanent nerve damage affecting his arms.
I definitely share your concern.
Thanks for covering the day 3 highlights, sir!
Day 3 and Butterball is out. Herniated cervical disc is very painful and does not heal quickly. I know because when I was 15 I broke my back at the L5/S1 vertebra location so spent a lot of time with doctors/specialists. Not my guy but I wish him a quick and full recovery with no lingering after effects.
While his dropping out sucks for him, his fans, and any potential Yokozuna run, at least now we’re spared the constant dribble and tripe we endured leading up to and into this basho of there potentially being 2 post basho Yokozuna promotions (T-Rex and Butterball).
On another note, The Bear is back! For some reason I just love this guy and I’m glad he looked solid today and Clown Prince Abi is kickin’ it in Juryo at 3-0. Seems the boy grew up and isn’t playing around anymore.
Lastly, Endo made No-Dai look like a clueless school boy today.
Hakuho’s technique today was super-interesting. Instead of pivoting on a planted right foot he minimized torsion on his right knee by doing a couple of little hops to keep it aligned with his hips as he turns through the throw. Breaking contact with the ground like that makes it difficult to transmit power through the throwing arm so to ensure that the technique would work Hakuho lifted his left leg against Daiesho’s upraised right leg to further tip him over. It wasn’t necessary — Hakuho hit the throw so quickly that Daeisho was completely disrupted — but if Daiesho had managed to plant and brace his left foot that little leg lift would have knocked him over anyway.
Managed to spell Daieisho’s name two different ways, both wrong.
Terunofuji’s arm pull technique was beautiful and caught me completely off guard. He had that planned out several steps ahead and executed it so fast that my jaw dropped which doesn’t happen very often.
Caught you off guard? You weren’t the only one!
Great write-up Andy.
I loved Ichiyamamoto’s casual pirouette at the edge – part Fred Astaire, part Matador. Worthy of his look-a-like, my beloved Abi (who did something similar, though less pretty for his win down in Juryo today).
Teru proved today he doesn’t just win via his super-human strength – there is also his cunning and finesse.
So, so sad to see Tochi like this, succumbing so easily to the predictable, plodding forward march of Kagayaki, a clumsy journeyman he regularly destroyed in his prime.
Kotoshoho finally looked like he has his mojo back in Juryo today – excellent fight to out-muscle Takagenji.
Glad someone else noticed the likeness! I hope some day we can see them face each other.
To me it looked like Hoshoryu lost the bout instead of Okinoumi winning it. He seemed to try to initiate another attack and then his right foot gave in. Nevertheless very entertaining bout. Great defense by Okinoumi.
The Mitakeumi bout looked kinda promising. There is fight this basho in Mitakeumi. I hope he can keep that up and keep things interesting.
Really happy with Takayasu today. He didn’t look affected by his back. Then again, maybe gentle giant ‘Ichinojo was also a bit hesitating.
Teru fight was great. Takanosho really gave him trouble until Teru managed to stalemate it. That throw to finish was beautiful.
Wonder where shodai was today. Certainly not on the dohyo. Endo happily took advantage of that.
Hakuho quickly took care of business. As long as he can avoid long yotsu battles he will probably be fine. I’m curious to see him go vs Wakatakakage. Maybe Takanosho can put him more to test a bit more as well tomorrow.
Makushita looks interesting as well. Hokuseiho off to a 2-0 start.