Day Three in Osaka. Links to NHK videos for today’s action are here: Juryo Part I & Part II, Makuuchi Part I & Part II.

Makuuchi Action

Tokihayate (2-1) defeated Tamashoho (Juryo 2-1). Tokihayate weathered Tamashoho’s tsuppari attack, and shoved Tamashoho from the ring. Oshidashi.

Mitakeumi (2-1) defeated Shirokuma (0-3). Strong tachiai, Shirokuma pressed forward and forced Mitakeumi to the edge but Mitakeumi shifted to the left along the bales and pulled Shirokuma down with his left-hand over arm grip. Uwatenage.

Asakoryu (3-0) defeated Kotoshoho (2-1). Asakoryu kept Kotoshoho centered, despite Kotoshoho’s strong pull and slapdown attempt, and shoved Kotoshoho clear from the dohyo. Excellent footwork from Asakoryu. Oshitaoshi.

Aonishiki (1-2) defeated Sadanoumi (0-3). Aonishiki started with an oshi attack, trying to shove Sadanoumi back to the bales. Aonishiki wasn’t getting anywhere with it, though, so he reached inside with a left-hand on Sadanoumi’s belt. He quickly pulled and threw Sadanoumi for his first win in the top division. Congratulations. Shitatenage.

Shishi (2-1) defeated Churanoumi (2-1) Churanoumi has no patience for Shishi’s twerking. Churanoumi would not let Shishi inside so the two blasted each other with tsuppari. Churanoumi lured Shishi toward the edge where he had a sudden shift to his right. It was a bit too sudden as Churanoumi stumbled and fell backwards while Shishi kept his footing. Oshitaoshi.

Takarafuji (2-1) defeated Ryuden (2-1). Takarafuji seized Ryuden’s belt with a strong left-hand inside, right-hand outside and drove him to the edge. Ryuden’s attack seemed disrupted by his inability to get his fingers wrapped on Takarafuji’s belt. He resorted to hugging Takarafuji but it was too late. Takarafuji pressured him back and powered Ryuden over the bales. Yorikiri.

Onokatsu (3-0) defeated Meisei (1-2). Onokatsu grabbed on to Meisei’s belt and kept his legs chugging forward. Meisei tried to shove Onokatsu away, then tried to throw him with a shitatenage but Onokatsu kept pressing forward and eventually shoved Meisei over the bales and into Ajigawa’s lap. Yorikiri.

Midorifuji (2-1) defeated Nishikigi (0-3). Midorifuji’s left hand ottsuke kept Nishikigi’s right hand off his belt. Midorifuji twisted backwards, pulling on Nishikigi’s belt. Somehow, Nishikigi found himself stood outside of the ring, perplexed, “But he’s such a little guy.” Yorikiri.

Endo (3-0) defeated Shonannoumi (0-3). Endo pulled and Shonannoumi pressed forward. Can you imagine? Endo had jumped out while Shonannoumi fell forward onto his knee. Gunbai Shonannoumi. Mono-ii. Ruling over-ruled and Sadanoumi was judged to be down first. Despite the flubbed description, it would have had to have been the top of Shonannoumi’s foot on the clay a beat before Endo landed out of the ring. Hatakikomi.

An ad? In the middle of NHK sumo coverage? WTF? That was jarring. I thought I was watching Abema for a moment. If my eyes did not deceive me, it was a promo for women’s volleyball. Or maybe that was one of my late-night hallucinations. I need more tea.

Atamifuji (2-1) defeated Oshoma (0-3). Power sumo. Atamifuji’s gaburi yotsu drove Oshoma back and out. Good to see the big boy seems to be pretty healthy this basho. Yorikiri.

Tamawashi (2-1) defeated Hakuoho (2-1). Well, damn. Not much of a bout here. Tamawashi blasted the heck out of Hakuoho and drove him from the dohyo. A strong blast from his right hand to Hakuoho’s shoulder while his left hand blasted into Hakuoho’s chin. This got Hakuoho into an irrecoverable death spin, like those space rockets have been doing of late. Oshidashi.

Halftime

Hiradoumi (2-1) defeated Takerufuji (2-1). Hiradoumi pressed forward with his high-octane yotsu and weathered Takerufuji’s attempt to twist him over to the right. Hiradoumi stuck with it and forced Takerufuji out. Yorikiri.

Kinbozan (1-2) defeated Shodai (1-2). Kinbozan found his stride today against Shodai and blasted the former Ozeki from the ring with his powerful tsuppari. Oshidashi.

Takayasu (3-0) defeated Ichiyamamoto (1-2). Takayasu battered Ichiyamamoto with his own tsuppari. That seemed to trump Ichiyamamoto’s main weapon. Takayasu battered Ichiyamamoto back to the edge and Ichiyamamoto resorted to crawling away in order to escape. Hatakikomi.

Ura (2-1) defeated Takanosho (0-3). Takanosho thought he had Ura. Takanosho blasted away at Ura, battered him back to the edge…and then he was gone. In a flash, Ura shifted to his right along the bales and pulled Takanosho’s left hand, forcing Takanosho to stumble forward. Tottari.

Sanyaku

Kirishima (2-1) defeated Chiyoshoma (1-2). Kirishima outlasted Chiyoshoma in a lengthy grapple. He heaved Chiyoshoma to the edge with his right hand and tried to force Chiyoshoma down with his left hand. Chiyoshoma stayed upright but was standing precariously at the edge. Kirishima pressed forward and forced Chiyoshoma out. Yorikiri.

Oho (1-2) defeated Tobizaru (0-3). Oho ejected Tobizaru with a few powerful thrusts. He caught Tobizaru wrong-footed so Tobizaru turned around and ran away. Then Tobizaru tumbled into the crowd and chatted a bit with a few of the Osaka fan club folks in brown vests. Oshidashi.

Daieisho (2-1) defeated Wakatakakage (0-3). Daieisho’s thrusts are powerful and one caught Wakatakakage just right and sent Wakatakakage flying back. Tsukitaoshi.

Abi (3-0) defeated Kotozakura (1-2). Kotozakura had the upper hand here. He took the brunt of Abi’s tsuppari, powered ahead and forced him to the edge. But Abi escaped to Kotozakura’s left, and bounded away. Kotozakura gave chase and got all lost — head and body way out ahead of his feet. Abi pounced and shoved the Ozeki out. Cha-ching! Oshidashi.

Onosato (3-0) defeated Gonoyama (1-2). Gonoyama jumped early, so they reset. Gonoyama charged forward, pressed Onosato back a few steps. Then he pulled and as he pulled he tried to slip to Onosato’s left. Onosato pursued and shoved him out. Oshidashi.

Hoshoryu (2-1) defeated Wakamotoharu (2-1). Hoshoryu death spin here. Left hand inside grip but he opted for the kotenage as he dragged Wakamotoharu around with his right arm planted in Wakamotoharu’s shoulder. As Wakamotoharu fought to stay upright, he freed himself from Hoshoryu’s grip but the momentum carried him into the crowd. Hoshoryu’s right arm grazed Wakamotoharu’s head as he stumbled from the dohyo. Kubinage.

Wrap-up

Asakoryu, Onokatsu, Endo, Abi, Onosato. Undefeated. God, I love this sport. Like, WTF. Thank God we have Onosato here with them, our rock, so far this tournament. We’re only on Day Three! Endo will end up 5-10, though. Onokatsu, though, has been a solid performer. And Abi. The wild card.

Tomorrow, Hoshoryu will face Gonoyama in the musubi-no-ichiban. Kotozakura will try to regroup against the winless, but always dangerous, Wakatakakage. Onosato fights Wakamotoharu. Further down the banzuke, we’ve got Oho against Takanosho, Kirishima versus Daieisho, and Abi looks to continue his run against Chiyoshoma.

I’ve not got much analysis at this point, outside of what happened in the bouts. We’re very early, still, so I’m basically sitting back and enjoying the action. Who knows where this will go? Other than the fact we know Endo’s going to mess this up and end up with a deep make-koshi, it just feels like this could go anywhere. When Abi’s in the lead, he could be on a yusho run or fall apart when he hits the Onami brothers. I am holding out hopes that Onosato will stay steady, Hoshoryu keeps winning after his early blemish, and Kotozakura recovers enough to get his kachi-koshi. We shall see.