Day Nine in the famous Hakata district of Fukuoka. Live NHK coverage and full top division replays on JME.tv in North America featured former Kakuryu and Myogiryu providing commentary. Your NHK video links of the action are here: Juryo Part I and Part II; Makuuchi Part I and Part II.

No news from the infirmary, and still no news on Kawazoe’s kyujo from Day 3. That fact has been giving sumo fans on Japanese Twitter a bit of concern. He won that day’s bout and seemed healthy. There has been no injury announcement. If there is a healthy scratch, that can mean scandal is brewing. So, peoples’ radars are up trying to find any sign of injury news. Tachiai hopes there’s nothing to see here and will bring news if we hear anything.

Down in Juryo, Oshoumi is still lighting people up. He’s the only undefeated sekitori left in this tournament which is remarkable because he owes his position to Takakeisho’s retirement. From this rank, even a yusho will likely not result in promotion to the top division.

So, Kinbozan has the early lead when we look at promotion candidates. Kagayaki and Hakuoho, on 5-4 from J2 but will really need four wins in the final six days to make strong cases. Tamashoho is also lurking but aside from their individual records, we will need to see how many real demotion candidates there are, aside from Bushozan, who’s already staked out a window seat on the barge to Juryo.

Makuuchi Action

Chiyoshoma (5-4) defeated Asakoryu (3-6). Chiyoshoma wrapped up Asakoryu and surged forward. Asakoryu pulled himself right out of the dohyo. Yorikiri.

Tokihayate (4-5) defeated Ryuden (2-7). Both men locked into a grapple immediately after the tachiai. Tokihayate yanked on Ryuden’s right side and pulled him down to the ground. Uwatenage.

Takerufuji (7-2) defeated Sadanoumi (3-6). Takerufuji pulled Sadanoumi down while pivoting to stay in bounds. Hatakikomi.

Shonannoumi (6-3) defeated Hokutofuji (3-6). As Hokutofuji lowered his head to charge forward, Shonannoumi pulled (surprise) and shoved Hokutofuji to the ground. Hatakikomi.

Meisei (6-3) defeated Shishi (3-6). With a quick pull, Meisei pivoted and forced Shishi to the edge. He reengaged and shoved Shishi over the bales. Oshidashi.

Nishikifuji (3-6) defeated Tamawashi (4-5). Tamawashi desperately tried to twist Nishikifuji down but Nishikifuji stayed on his feet and pressed Tamawashi to the bales. At the bales, Nishikfuji pressed all of his weight forward and crushed Tamawashi out. Yoritaoshi.

Takarafuji (7-2) defeated Onokatsu (7-2). Takarafuji pulled and slapped Onokatsu down. Hatakikomi.

Ichiyamamoto (5-4) defeated Mitakeumi (5-4). Ichiyamamoto’s usual brand of oshi-sumo was insufficient to force Mitakeumi into trouble. In a sign of strength, Mitakeumi surged inside to wrap up Ichiyamamoto. Ichiyamamoto locked up Mitakeumi and pressed forward. Mitakeumi tried to twist Ichiyamamoto down as he went over the bales but Ichiyamamoto stayed up. The twist seemed to tweak something in Mitakeumi’s taped left butt cheek as his body rebelled against the twist maneuver. Yorikiri.

Takayasu (5-4) defeated Endo (5-4). Takayasu got his powerful right arm on Endo’s belt spun Endo down. Takayasu’s left hand pressed down on Endo’s head. Takayasu’s hand slipped off Endo’s head and his fingers never got caught in Endo’s hair, so there was no concern over a hair pull. Uwatenage.

Midorifuji (4-5) defeated Nishikigi (2-7). Midorifuji first used his maemitsu grip to press forward and force Nishikigi to the edge. Nishikigi resisted well, using the tawara to brace. Midorifuji yanked hard on Nishikigi’s belt and pulled him down to the ground. Shitatedashinage.

Halftime

Takanosho (8-1) defeated Roga (4-5). Solid tachiai. Roga reached in to engage and pressed his weight forward. Takanosho slipped to his left and thrust Roga down. Takanosho kachi-koshi. Tsukiotoshi.

Gonoyama (6-3) defeated Kotoshoho (2-7). Kotoshoho pulled but Gonoyama did well to pursue and maintain his balance. Gonoyama then pressed forward and shoved Kotoshoho off the dohyo. Oshitaoshi.

Tobizaru (6-3) defeated Ura (2-7). Ura and Tobizaru locked horns after the tachiai. Ura had a firm hold of Tobizaru’s right arm to start. Ura shifted his grip and that allowed Tobizaru use of that right hand. Tobizaru pulled hard with it. This spun Ura to the right and allowed Tobizaru to get in behind where he shoved Ura into the crowd Okuridashi.

Oho (3-6) defeated Hiradoumi (1-8). A confident, forward moving, thrusting attack from Oho sent Hiradoumi to the edge. Oho then blasted Hiradoumi over the bales. Tsukidashi.

Sanyaku

Wakatakakage (6-3) defeated Shodai (3-6). Two mattas, one from the chief shimpan and one from the gyoji as the authorities crack down on Shodai’s touchless-tachiai. Shodai had a hold of Wakatakakage’s right shoulder and tried to pull him backward. Wakatakakage countered by pressing forward and he forced Shodai out. Yorikiri.  

Abi (7-2) defeated Daieisho (5-4). Abi-zumo > Daieisho-zumo. It is simple math. Oshidashi.

Kirishima (3-6) defeated Atamifuji (4-5). Atamifuji chased Kirishima for a few laps around the ring. Kirishima tried to pull Atamifuji forward over the bales with his right-hand grip. He threw Atamifuji off balance and nearly got in behind the big man. Atamifuji panicked and turned around but was met with powerful shoves forcing him over the bales. Oshidashi.

Hoshoryu (8-1) defeated Churanoumi (2-7). Streak breaker! The streak of East wins, starting way back at Midorifuji, ends at eight because Churanoumi let Hoshoryu have a grip of his belt. Jesus, dude. Don’t do that! Hoshoryu’s going to throw you! Everyone in the building knew that. Hoshoryu reached over Churanoumi’s back and latched on to the back of Churanoumi’s mawashi. Hoshoryu pivoted and spun Churanoumi around the dohyo, then bowled him off the edge. Uwatenage.

Kotozakura (8-1) defeated Oshoma (2-7). Kotozakura shoved Oshoma to the bales. Oshoma tried to escape to his left so he could get a better position but tripped over his own feet. How many times have you practiced moving laterally, dude? You have probably done this literally every morning for the past four years. Oshitaoshi.

Onosato (7-2) defeated Wakamotoharu (5-4). Onosato used his size effectively to force Wakamotoharu to the edge and over the bales. Yorikiri.

Wrap-up

Another strong performance from all three Ozeki. This is fantastic! Hoshoryu humbled Churanoumi today and will face Kotoshoho tomorrow. Kotozakura will fight Tobizaru and Onosato will take on Daieisho.

The Kyokai has begun trying to eliminate rank-and-filers from the yusho race by setting them against each other. First was today’s Takarafuji vs Onokatsu bout which Takarafuji won, dropping Onokatsu from the lead group into the chasers. Next, Takanosho earned his kachi-koshi and will fight Onokatsu. Meanwhile, others in the chase group will have tough bouts tomorrow (except Takarafuji). Abi will face Hiradoumi, Takarafuji will square up against Mitakeumi, and Takerufuji has drawn Meisei.

It’s still early but I am sure that the Wakatakakage fans among you are eagerly anticipating his possible return to sanyaku. He’s certainly wracking up the wins he will need. Abi looks to be his main competitor for an open slot and it looks like both men will have an easier schedule this week as they’ve already fought all eligible sanyaku opponents. But both Shodai and Kirishima will need to turn things around to keep their ranks. If they don’t there could be two openings, enough for both WTK and Abi.

What this means, though, is Abi is a real dark horse for the yusho. He has already faced the gauntlet and performed very well. He definitely looks much stronger than he had in the past couple of tournaments. Probably the biggest question here is when do they bring Takanosho and Takerufuji into his fight card?

By the numbers, neither should really fight Abi based on their ranks. Which fight would you replace? Abi has already fought Ura and will take on Hiradoumi tomorrow. Frankly, I would like to see him take on Wakatakakage, Tobizaru and Atamifuji. If he wins those, with Hiradoumi tomorrow, that puts him on 11 wins.