Day 11 action featured the semifinals among 5-0 rikishi and several key bouts in the promotion zone.

In the first semifinal between two former amateur stars, Ms60TD Kusano ran his record to 6-0 by handing young Ukrainian Ms40e Aonishiki only his second professional loss in four basho. I believe that Kusano would have been eligible to start at Ms15TD under the previous rules, with a shot at immediate promotion to Juryo with a 7-0. As it is, he’ll probably be ranked just outside the promotion zone in Nagoya even if he wins his final bout.

In the second semifinal, the pre-bout shenanigans lasted a lot longer than the fight itself. Ms32 Kazenoumi false-started a whopping four times, drawing rebukes from the shimpan. Once they finally got the timing right, Ms11e Fujiseiun met the charge and then immediately slapped down Kazenoumi. Fujiseiun is ranked high enough to earn a promotion by defeating Kusano for the yusho. He started in Ozumo 3 years ago, went 21-0 in his first three basho, and got as high as Juryo 6 before sitting out three tournaments with an injury.

In the promotion zone, Ms1w Kayo (5-1) is set to finally make a sekitori debut. Like Fujiseiun, top-ranked Ms1e Akua (3-3) must win his final bout to earn promotion. The pecking order for the rest of the contenders is as follows: Ms2w Nabatame (4-2), Ms3e Kiryuko (4-2), Ms3w Daiseizan (3-3), Ms4e Kitaharima (3-3), Ms4w Kotokuzan (3-3). Nabatame and Kiryuko can still finish as high as second or as low as fifth in the promotion queue, while members of the 3-3 trio can do no better than fourth. I expect to see a number of cross-division potential exchange bouts over the closing days, starting with Kotokuzan vs. J13w Chiyomaru (3-8) tomorrow.

In terms of openings in Juryo, J13e Oshoumi (2-9) is slated for demotion, Chiyomaru is one loss away from joining him, J8w Hakuoho (3-5-3) will go down unless he can reenter and pick up a win or two, and J14w Kazekeno (5-6) and J12w Tsushimanada (4-7) need more wins than losses the rest of the way to keep their salaries. I’d put the over-under at four promotion slots.