Down in Juryo, Takerufuji is kyujo again. He picked up the two wins he needed to keep his Juryo status in Aki. Now, it’s back to the couch to rest that foot. Shishi ran into Hakuyozan today and picked up his second loss. He is now tied with Shirokuma and the two will fight tomorrow. Hakuoho and Shimazuumi are just off pace at 7-3. Hakuoho will fight Myogiryu and Shimazuumi fights Daishoho.
Weird things with the Jme.tv service. I’ll be reaching out to tech support as the stream suddenly switched from Japanese to English commentary and back again. Their support chat is a little annoying but so is this glitch.
Anyway, let’s turn to the action.
Makuuchi Division
Bushozan (6-4) defeated Tsurugisho (Juryo 6-4). Bushozan persevered through multiple slapdown attempts from Tsurugisho and forced his Juryo-ranked opponent out. Oshidashi.
Hokutofuji (4-6) defeated Chiyoshoma (3-2-5). Hokutofuji’s blue shimekomi came embued with yotsu-boosting properties. Hokutofuji locked on to Chiyoshoma’s left arm and dragged him out of the ring with it. We are definitely witnessing the evolution of Hokutofuji’s sumo. And this is a good thing. Yoritaoshi.
Endo (6-4) defeated Churanoumi (7-3). I need data on bout duration because I swear this was Endo’s longest bout in years. He was confident on the belt, locked in with a right-hand inside and eventually ushered Churanoumi over the bales for the win. Steady pressure and endurance that I have not seen from that man in AGES. Yorikiri.
Nishikifuji (5-5) defeated Ichiyamamoto (5-5). Nishikifuji charged ahead for about two seconds before executing a slapdown. Down goes Ichiyamamoto. Hatakikomi.
Kagayaki (6-4) defeated Nishikigi (1-9). Nishikigi offered the offensive output of a blocking sled today. Once Kagayaki got inside and seized his belt, he was toast. Yorikiri.
Wakatakakage (7-3) defeated Midorifuji (6-4). Thrilling bout. Midorifuji struggled to find Wakatakakage’s belt through all of the tsuppari coming at him. Once he finally established a grip and pressed forward, Wakatakakage slipped deftly to the side. Beautiful inashi. Midorifuji charged past and WTK finished him off with a shove. Oshidashi.
Takarafuji (4-6) defeated Tamawashi (5-5). Tamawashi was pressing forward when he suddenly stumbled in the middle of the ring. Hikiotoshi.
Ryuden (3-7) defeated Roga (5-5). Ryuden’s relentless yotsu is back. He quickly locked on with a left-hand outside. Roga fought hard to release Ryuden’s right hand but Ryuden kept up the pressure and steadily walked forward, blocking Roga from escape. Yorikiri.
Shodai (7-3) defeated Kinbozan (3-7). Shodai looked like he was going over the edge with help of a Kinbozan nodowa. He slipped to the side and when Kinbozan followed, Shodai grabbed at his belt and shoved him down. Tsukiotoshi.
Oshoma (5-5) defeated Sadanoumi (3-7). Oshoma executed a swift slapdown. Hatakikomi.
Halftime
Tobizaru (5-5) defeated Kotoshoho (5-5). Kotoshoho charged forward into Tobizaru’s tsuppari but Tobizaru sidestepped to his left and Kotoshoho fell onto the bales. Hikiotoshi.
Ura (4-6) defeated Oho (6-4). As Oho charged forward (yay!) Ura seized his arm and yanked him forward. Well, at least the youngster seems to be making progress. Tottari.
Takanosho (7-3) defeated Gonoyama (3-7). Strong tachiai from both men but Gonoyama backed Takanosho to the edge. From the bales, Takanosho worked his way inside Gonoyama’s arms and wrapped him up. As Takanosho drove forward, Gonoyama tried to pull and slapdown but Takanosho had him secured in front. Yorikiri.
Mitakeumi (4-6) defeated Meisei (2-8). Meisei charged forward, driving Mitakeumi to the edge with force. But it was a trap. Mitakeumi twisted and drove him down to the ground. No mono-ii. Meisei makekoshi. Tsukiotoshi.
Sanyaku
Daieisho (6-4) defeated Atamifuji (4-6). Atamifuji demonstrated the danger of “pulling” sumo of the variety that Mitakeumi used today. Sometimes, you go back too far and step out. Atamifuji wanted to deflect Daieisho’s attack and send him forward over the bales but Daieisho knocked Atamifuji over the bales instead. Oshidashi.
Hiradoumi (6-4) defeated Wakamotoharu (4-6). Forceful tachiai as usual. Hiradoumi blasted Wakamotoharu to the bales and as Wakamotoharu resisted, Hiradoumi shifted to the side. Wakamotoharu stumbled forward to the clay. Tsukiotoshi.
Abi (6-4) defeated Takakeisho (4-6). Abi pulled, Takakeisho flopped forward. Gunbai Takakeisho. Mono-ii. Video review shows Takakeisho’s hand touching the ground before Abi went out. Abi’s slapdown gamble paid out today. Hatakikomi.
Hoshoryu (7-3) defeated Shonannoumi (5-5). It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Hoshoryu use kicks and trips. Against Shonannoumi he used his left foot and wrapped it around Shonnanoumi’s right. Sotogake.
Kotozakura (8-2) defeated Onosato (5-5). After a great oshi battle, Kotozakura saw an opening to Onosato’s belt and latched on. He grabbed Onosato’s belt with his left hand, rotated and threw Onosato to the ground. Uwatenage.
Terunofuji (10-0) defeated Kirishima (5-5). Terunofuji locked on to Kirishima with both arms and drove forward. When he reached the bales and Kirishima resisted, he rotated and threw Kirishima to the ground. Kotenage.
Wrap-up
Takakeisho can only lose one more bout and preserve his rank. He will face Gonoyama tomorrow but he still needs to fight Terunofuji, Hoshoryu, Kotozakura and Onosato. That will be…difficult. Kirishima, though, must win out. Kotozakura can put the final dagger in Kirishima’s hopes tomorrow. Kotozakura secured his kachikoshi today. Churanoumi missed out with his loss today. So, Terunofuji remains sole leader and the field narrowed even further.
There are some great matchups on tap for us tomorrow. The musubi-no-ichiban features Terunofuji and Onosato. The May tournament champion will hope to keep his Ozeki run alive but he still has work to do in order to secure his kachikoshi. A loss to the Yokozuna tomorrow will hand him a 6th loss and he gets closer to having to start from scratch.
Hoshoryu versus Abi and Takakeisho against Gonoyama are not at the top of my list for tomorrow but they are important bouts, nonetheless. Hoshoryu will fight for his kachikoshi and Takakeisho falls ever closer to makekoshi and demotion. Daieisho will fight Wakamotoharu and Atamifuji will fight Hiradoumi. It is difficult to have a favorite in that bout. The highlight bout tomorrow, though, is undoubtedly Takanosho versus Shodai. Two guys who have really disappeared of late are looking strong. Be careful. They might end up back in sanyaku.
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That WTK teleport was wild, smooth and suggests his movement is at least closing in on pre-injury movement.
Scared to see Iron Man Tamawashi go down like that, he had that match won.
The glee and unsurprised almost sarcastic tone in the announcer’s voice when Hoshoryu pulled that deft little trip was perfect.
It’s Kaiju’s cup. He looks mean and more like himself than he has in some time.
This has been an excellent basho in my view, the Juryo slate too has held up some exciting matches.
Can’t wait for the Ozeki to fight.
Complete agreement. Especially on Tamawashi. If it was anyone else, I would expect a kyujo announcement.
You have to also give massive kudos to Enho. The little guy got his Kachi-koshi yesterday and appears to be back and ready to start the long hard climb back up the ranks. Will be looking forward to his journey.
Wakamotoharu needs to work on his tachiai. With his right hand down he moves his left hand down (too slowly) before launching. Hiradoumi launched while Motoharu’s left hand was still moving down. Abi did the same thing to him in a previous tournament.
The decision for Takakeiho/Abi felt more like punishment for Takakeisho than a win for Abi. I guess the bottom of a foot scraping along the bales for a rikishi falling off of the dohyo is enough to earn a win when an opponent hits the floor.
This basho really shows that the entire banzuke is still shuffling around and hasn’t settled down at all. Goodness.
…except for the rank of Yokozuna.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Terunofuji started losing at this point; something in his right arm was stinging after he used that kimedashi grip to counter Kirishima’s morozashi. But maybe not — we saw Hakuho find wins with no elbows, no big toes, and only one knee, so who knows what’s possible.
Today was full of Hatakikomi, Hikio- and Tsukiotoshi. Still some days left…
I‘d like to add, that Ms60 Newcomer Ishizaki (Asakoryu-bro) gained KK already. And looks quite good on the dancefloor :)
If feelings are still up inside Kirishima, he may take second revenge on Kotozakura, after beating him in Osaka. But the model child has made real progress since Ozeki promotion.
Depending on how your feelings run, some sad/disappointing story lines this basho:
1) Any talk of an Onosato Ozeki run is over. Being 5-5 now there’s no way he goes 5-0 in the 3rd Act. Too many top tier opponents left.
2) I think we’ve seen the last of Takakeisho as an Ozeki. If he doesn’t get his 8 wins this basho I see no way he gets 10 wins next basho as a Sekiwake.
3) Kirishima is a shell of his former self, doubtful that he’ll get 10 wins, and will have to start a new Ozeki run in September.
4) The top of the Maegashira ranks aren’t looking so good either. You have to go all the way to Maegashira 4 East (Tobizaru) to find a 5-5 record, not even a winning record. The first winning record in the Maegashira ranks is Takanosho at 7-3 in the Maegashira 6 East slot.
Onosato’s run isn’t over. This just will not be the final leg where he is promoted. If he wins out, he still has a great shot at Aki. One more loss, I think it’s still possible at Aki.
I think #4 will improve. Many of them are done with the hard part of their schedule.
could this be the last tournament we see of Takakeisho. he has samurai spirit and may prefer to retire before attempting the near impossible next tournament
I get that vibe from him too. Despite his samurai stoicism I see a sorrow in him that he thinks it is all over.
His swan song has not been composed yet.
Just last year, there were big debates about Takakeisho’s rope run. Lucky they didn’t. Just imagine Yukotsuna Keisho..? NOOOO~~~