News from the infirmary is that Takayasu is kyujo. You may recall that on Shonichi he fought Kirishima in a long, tough, wild battle. But he suddenly pulled up and appeared to look for the exit. He has since been diagnosed with a partial tear of his left pectoral muscle, needing three weeks recovery. In Sumo time, he could be back by Sunday, provided he gets enough keiko in there. /sarcasm.
The big shock from the early action is that Enho lost his comeback bout. It was a bit careless but it was honestly not a bad beat. Solid work from Shimizuumi to keep Enho in front. The youngster was not intimidated. Kudos. Now that Enho is in the loser’s bracket, he will have an easier path. He will be back in action tomorrow against Takekuma-beya’s Kumanohana. Enho matches Kumanohana’s height, at 167cm and even has a few extra kilos. A loss tomorrow should ring alarm bells at Isegahama-beya. But coming back from such a serious neck injury? It was probably a bit presumptuous of us to assume he would run the table. Oh well. Glad he is back and seemingly recovered.
Bookmark this page. It’s where the NHK has all of their bout videos for Makuuchi and Juryo. Sorry, I forgot about that yesterday. Today’s Juryo bouts are here: Part I and Part II. The Makuuchi bouts are here: Part I and Part II. More bad news at former Miyagino-beya as Hakuoho was overpowered, plain-and-simple, by Juryo returnee Fujiseiun. The bout replay is the last one on that page, you’ll need to scroll down there.
Well, let’s get to today’s Top Division action.
Day 2 Highlights
Onokatsu (Juryo 2-0) defeated Kagayaki (1-1). Onokatsu backed away, walking along the tawara as Kagayaki stumbled out. LATE but quick mono-ii confirmed the gyoji’s decision. Tsukiotoshi.
Bushozan (1-1) defeated Nishikifuji (1-1). Bushozan was not going to fall for the pull as Kagayaki had. As Bushozan maintained his balance and focus as he advanced and shoved Nishikifuji out. Oshidashi.
Nishikifuji will face Kagayaki on Day 3.
Wakatakakage (1-1) defeated Roga (1-1). Roga initiated a pull and Wakatakakage made use of the momentum and his solid footwork, to usher Roga over the edge. Oshidashi.
Roga will fight Bushozan on Day 3.
Endo (1-1) defeated Takarafuji (1-1). A bit of a weird henka from Endo. He shifted to the right a bit late at the initial charge. The henka still caught Takarafuji, and the crowd, by surprise and he slipped in behind Takarafuji, wrapped him up and walked him out from behind. Okuridashi.
Endo will fight Wakatakakage tomorrow.
Asanoyama (2-0) defeated Hokutofuji (0-2). Asanoyama forced Hokutofuji into a grapple. He was not going to fight an oshi-style bout. Hokutofuji gave it a good effort and forced Asanoyama to change his grip several times. But Asanoyama maintained steady pressure, advanced toward the bales, and forced Hokutofuji out – regardless of whether his left arm was inside, or outside. Yorikiri.
Hokutofuji will take on Takarafuji tomorrow.
Churanoumi (2-0) defeated Nishikigi (0-2). Churanoumi got a left-hand grip up front and spun Nishikigi around. Nishikigi seemed unprepared for this method of attack and just tried his best to stay in the ring. Churanoumi’s strategy was effective and he forced Nishikigi over the bales. Yorikiri.
Churanoumi will fight Asanoyama on Day 3.
Ichiyamamoto (1-1) defeated Shodai (0-2). Ichiyamamoto drove forward and as Shodai shifted, Ichiyamamoto kept up his thrusts. Shodai tried his Shodai antics at the edge but Ichiyamamoto drove him out first. Oshidashi.
Ichiyamamoto is paired up with Nishikigi on Day 3.
Tamawashi (2-0) defeated Midorifuji (1-1). Tamawashi powered forward. Midorifuji wrapped up Tamawashi’s arm and shifted right, trying to pull Tamawashi out. But Tamawashi bulled forward forcing the pair off the dohyo. Yoritaoshi.
Midorifuji will try again tomorrow against Shodai.
Oshoma (2-0) defeated Ryuden (0-2). Oshoma pressed into Ryuden but used his hands effectively to keep Ryuden away from his belt. With Ryuden’s weight pressing forward, Oshoma suddenly pulled and slapped Ryuden down. Hatakikomi.
Oshoma asked for another opponent and for his sins, they gave him one: tomorrow he will fight Tamawashi.
Sadanoumi (2-0) defeated Kinbozan (0-2). Sadanoumi was all to happy to get a belt grip and Kinbozan did not want to keep him away. Sadanoumi lifted and spun Kinbozan around and then drove the Kazakh back and out. Yorikiri.
Kinbozan will face Ryuden on Day 3.
Kotoshoho (1-1) defeated Takanosho (0-2). Takanosho drove forward, forcing Kotoshoho to the bales. At the bales, Kotoshoho arched his back and tried to slip to the side as Takanosho stumbled forward. Gunbai Takanosho. Mono-ii was called and the gunbai was overturned. Kotoshoho had stayed in long enough. Takanosho fell forward first. Tsukiotoshi.
Kotoshoho will take on Sadanoumi on Day 3.
Halftime
Shonannoumi (2-0) defeated Oho (1-1). Fresh clay but no fresh ideas from Taiho’s grandson. Shonannoumi punished Oho for his lack of commitment to forward-moving sumo. Oho pulled and Shonannoumi just let him walk himself backwards and out. Oshidashi.
Oho will face Takanosho on Day 3. Hopefully he will bring his compass tomorrow and be ready to move in the right direction: forward.
Tobizaru (1-1) defeated Onosho (0-2). Another silly pull. As Onosho walked backwards, Tobizaru walked forwards and shoved him over the bales. Too easy. Oshidashi.
Onosho will battle Shonnanoumi tomorrow. Onosho is another candidate for Andy’s orienteering course. A Tachiai-branded compass, always pointing forward, will be provided.
Ura defeated Gonoyama. Where’d this Ura come from? Rather than finesse, Ura won with pure power. With his heels at the tawara, he wrapped up Gonoyama, set the gear for drive and plowed clear through the ring. Yorikiri.
Ura will face Tobizaru tomorrow.
Sanyaku
Abi (1-1) default win over the absent Takayasu (0-2).
Kirishima (2-0) defeated Mitakeumi (1-1). Maybe Onosato is taking notes. Kirishima met Mitakeumi’s drive head on and stopped him in the middle of the ring. As the two settled into a lean, Kirishima decided not to settle into a lean, picked up Mitakeumi like he was dead weight, and pressed forward. Yorikiri.
Wakamotoharu (2-0) defeated Onosato (0-2). Onosato pulled. When he reached the bales he tried to circle around the tawara but he fell backwards and landed before Wakamotoharu. Oshitaoshi.
Kotozakura (1-1) defeated Atamifuji (1-1). Atamifuji fought well against the Ozeki. Kotozakura tried the Shodai thing again today, shuffling along the bales and trying to wave Atamifuji over the edge. But Atamifuji needed more direct attention. Kotozakura moved to the center and shoved Atamifuji out. Yorikiri.
Takakeisho (1-1) defeated Daieisho (1-1). Takakeisho came out blasting today and forced Daieisho back to the edge. However, he could not finish. Daieisho resisted at the edge so the two competitors locked horns. Daieisho has always been vulnerable to flopping on his belly and that’s how Takakeisho won. He sensed when Daieisho was pitched too far forward and slapped him down. Hatakikomi.
Hoshoryu (1-1) defeated Hiradoumi (0-2). This was an old-fashioned street fight. Hoshoryu tried to move in quickly for a belt grip but Hiradoumi did not allow it. Instead, the two traded vicious blows. Hoshoryu advanced on Hiradoumi, whose back was to the edge, and blasted him from the dohyo. Oshidashi.
Terunofuji (2-0) defeated Meisei (1-1). A dominant Terunofuji blew Meisei away. The Yokozuna’s hard charging tachiai forced Meisei back to the bales. Terunofuji continued forward and drove Meisei out. Yorikiri.
Wrap-up
The Ozeki recovered from yesterday’s losses and turned in victories. They were a bit shaky but victories nonetheless. Terunofuji’s win, though, was anything but shaky. He won with the confidence and authority of a Yokozuna.
Tomorrow’s sanyaku bouts will continue the drama. First up, Onosato will try to get back to his winning ways against Daieisho. Hiradoumi will face Abi. Kirishima will take on Gonoyama. For the Ozeki, Hoshoryu faces Mitakeumi, Kotozakura gets his turn with Meisei and Takakeisho will have his hands full with Atamifuji. Last, but not least, Terunofuji will fight Wakamotoharu.
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Hoshoryu…..?……😡
That was suspiciously henka-ish, wasn’t it?
I saw it as hit and shift, or at least, stay in front for a jot, before moving sideways. I wouldn’t call it henka-ish.
Onosho usually don’t pull, he prefers pushing out his opponents. Looks like he did not get the proper grip to push.
Kotoshoho win was lucky
Onosato had him, but he released the pressure at the tawara. Hopefully he reaches 10 wins.
Andy, thanks for the update on Enho and for the video.
He looks like shadow of his former self.
As his fan, I will be happy if he at least reach Kachi koshi.
Wanna c churanoumi vs bushozan
Kirishima yusho.
Thanks to Andy for the NHK links!
That would put a punctuation mark on re-promotion.
NHK suddenly went dark on sumo highlight show today at all times on our cable system. Looks like it’s going to stay like that for a while. All seemed fine yesterday. Anything going on behind the scenes?
That’s odd. I’ll look into it.
It is back today. Hopefully it will stay that way.
Usually Oho looks like the dumbest guy in the world when pulling, but Onosato easily topped him today.
Sad news that Takayasu is out again and wasn’t it a tear of the pectoral muscle that killed Kisenosato’s career?
Good news: Kirishima looks like he could actually go for 10 wins and Terunofuji looks like an actual Yokozuna. Today more than yesterday.
Atamifuji should be 2-0, but he got a bit careless today. Kotozakura is looking shaky. Asanoyama looks less dominant than what I hoped for down there, but maybe just warming up.
Juryo is already down to only 5 undefeated guys. Hakuoho unfortunately is none of them. The Juryo debutants are all 1-1 … at least no cold start.
Speaking of cold starts – Wakatakakage used to be the grandmaster of cold starts. Already winning on day 2 might promise a good tournament;-)
As far as Kisenosato goes, I honestly don’t know what ended his career, the injury or the 10 bouts he fought the next tournament before going kyujo. Then rinse and repeat the same thing multiple tournaments.
I want to see that career highlight reel of all the ways Ura wins. Seems like every win is something new.
For all that Gonoyama’s raw power exceeds Ura’s it just doesn’t tell — Gonoyama has yet to beat him in four attempts. Ura’s move at the edge — ducking the oncoming push and getting double underhooks — was so successful that it makes me wonder why it’s not seen more often in general. That morozashi was unstoppable — it held up all the way across the ring, the longest possible distance to the force-out.