As a bit of a preview for Nagoya, NHK showed some video from inside the new IG Arena. It should be ready for action for the July tournament. It looks nice and is much bigger than the old sweat box next door. Having been to the Nagoya tournament, I encourage folks to go. The castle is right there and I am a fan of the Toyota Museum.
No new kyujo. Kusano is making another charge in Juryo at 6-1, tied with Tohakuryu from the bottom half of the division. Those two won’t be paired off until later next week if they keep their streaks alive.
Today’s NHK videos: Juryo, Makuuchi Part I & Part II. Let’s get to it.
Makuuchi Action
Kayo (3-4) defeated Tochitaikai (3-4). Tochitaikai nearly had this. He tried to slap Kayo down and then got in behind Kayo. But Kayo grabbed Tochitaikai’s left arm and dragged him to the edge. Kayo then shoved Tochitaikai out from behind. Okuridashi.
Shonannoumi (2-5) defeated Tamashoho (2-5). The larger Shonannoumi used his size well, shrugged off Tamashoho’s patty-cake tsuppari and shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Roga (5-2) defeated Ryuden (4-3). Marathon yotsu battle here. Roga wore down Ryuden and eventually used his morozashi, double-inside belt grip, to force Ryuden over the edge. Yorikiri.
Sadanoumi (5-2) defeated Nishikigi (5-2). Nishikigi pressed Sadanoumi to the edge where Sadanoumi pulled out Nishikigi’s trick from Day One. Beautiful. Amiuchi.
Tokihayate (3-4) defeated Asakoryu (5-2). Tokihayate was the aggressor from the beginning here. He twisted and yanked on Asakoryu’s left shoulder and dragged him around the ring until Asakoryu went down. Kotenage.
Atamifuji (5-2) defeated Kotoshoho (1-1-5). Patient and persistent gaburi yotsu from Atamifuji. Kotoshoho started with a henka and slapdown attempt but Atamifuji’s footwork today was excellent and he did not fall for the henka. Atamifuji then wrapped up Kotoshoho and worked him to the edge with the hip-thrusting action. Kotoshoho tried to turn the tables at the edge and escaped along the edge to Atamifuji’s left. But Atamifuji pursued and shoved Kotoshoho out. Yorikiri.
Meisei (4-3) defeated Shodai (2-5). Meisei locked up and steamrolled Shodai while Shodai was still trying to find a belt grip that he liked. Yorikiri.
Takanosho (4-3) defeated Midorifuji (0-7). Takanosho dominated Midorifuji with tsuppari and did not allow him anywhere near his shoulder. Solid, persistent tsuppari drove Midorifuji from the fighting surface. Midorifuji needs to find some wins, soon. Oshidashi.
Aonishiki (6-1) defeated Endo (4-3). Aonishiki started with tsuppari and Endo wrapped him up on the belt to try to stop the assault. Aonishiki took his right hand, shoved it into Endo’s face and drove him through the dohyo and into the lap of a fan. The fan laughed, gave a thumbs up, and seemed absolutely thrilled to be a part of the action. “恥ずかしい！” Oshidashi.
Kinbozan (5-2) defeated Shishi (1-6). Kinbozan shoved Shishi straight back and out. One wonders if Shishi is injured. Tsukidashi.
Oshoma (4-3) defeated Churanoumi (1-6). Oshoma dragged Churanoumi by his shoulder to the edge and shoved Churanoumi out to finish him off. Oshidashi.
Halftime
Chiyoshoma (2-5) defeated Onokatsu (3-4). Chiyoshoma was all over Onokatsu like white on rice. Tsuppari, then grabbed Onokatsu by the right arm and belt, pulled him forward to the bales where he crushed him down to the ground. Yoritaoshi.
Ura (2-5) defeated Tobizaru (4-3). Ura secured a right-hand inside belt grip and dragged Tobizaru, helping him down with the left hand. Shitatedashinage.
Hakuoho (7-0) defeated Ichiyamamoto (3-4). Hakuoho absorbed Ichiyamamoto’s tsuppari and backed to the tawara. At the edge he put his head down and bulldozed Ichiyamamoto, shoving him out of the ring. Oshidashi.
Wakamotoharu (2-5) defeated Tamawashi (2-5). Wakamotoharu took a bruising nodowa from Tamawashi but used his left hand inside to drive Tamawashi back and out of the ring. Yorikiri.
Sanyaku
Takayasu (2-5) defeated Oho (3-4). Beautiful throw from Takayasu to finish Oho. Takayasu got a hold of Oho’s belt with the right hand outside, stepped back and threw Oho to the ground. Oho seemed to cradle his left arm as he walked down the hanamichi. Uwatenage.
Kirishima (5-2) defeated Abi (3-4). Kirishima worked his way behind Abi and shoved him out from behind. Okuridashi.
Wakatakakage (6-1) defeated Daieisho (5-2). Wakatakakage blocked Daieisho’s nodowa and then overpowered the Sekiwake, shoving him backward and thrusting him from the ring. Daieisho’s promotion hopes this tournament are fading, fading… Oshidashi.
Gonoyama (1-6) defeated Kotozakura (4-3). Gonoyama got low, slammed his mage right into Kotozakura’s chin. He wrapped up Kotozakura with a morozashi and drove him backward and out. It felt like Kotozakura was still trying to figure out what to do when he was standing outside the tawara. Yorikiri.
Onosato (7-0) defeated Takerufuji (3-4). Takerufuji drove into Onosato hard at the tachiai. Onosato backed to his right and slapped Takerufuji down. Hatakikomi.
Hoshoryu (5-2) defeated Hiradoumi (3-4). Hoshoryu enveloped Hiradoumi with both arms before pivoting to his right and yanking Hiradoumi down by his left arm. Kotenage.
Wrap-up
Tomorrow is Nakabi already. It’s been a fun tournament so far and Onosato is in the driver’s seat. Hakuoho is still undefeated and will probably be pulled up the banzuke next week if his streak continues. As it is, Hakuoho will face Meisei tomorrow. Onosato will take on Hiradoumi.
Kotozakura is fighting like Shodai. It’s hard to believe Shodai was Ozeki for two years, isn’t it? With this kind of sumo, it’s hard to imagine Kotozakura lasting that long. The Goth Lord actually won a title back during the pestilence. Hard to think of that now as he will try to pick up his third win against…checks notes…Takanosho. Unfortunately, Daieisho looks like he is going to come up short this tournament in his drive to move up. He will need to win out in order to hit that 33-win mark.
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Shodai lost all “confidence” after his former oyakata was forced out. Hasn’t won more than 10 since.
It looks to me like Kayo has shaken off his mental rust, has realized he has the skills to compete in the top division, and is putting his best foot forward. Glad to see he’s improving.
I really appreciated the NHK director switching cameras so we could see the ongoing “hand fighting” between Ryuden and Roga during their bout. That match was definitely not a “lean fest” match and it was fascinating to watch.
I wonder if Sadanoumi said, “Anything you can do I can do better” to Nishkigi after their match.
I hope Asakoryu gets his kachi-koshi for this basho. He’s really putting in the effort even when he loses.
I’m not sure if Shishi is injured or if everyone has figured him out because he just tries to do the same thing every time. Maybe both? But, I agree that him losing this much is odd.
Chiyoshoma showed today that his agility doesn’t just apply to henkas. I think he was behind Onokatsu in one step! Wow!
I heavily suspect that Ura and Tobizaru have a friendly rivalry because they both know they can go all out against each other in the ring. What a great match with a surprising amount of belt work!
I think other rikishi have figured out that if you get in close to Ichiyamamoto, wrap him up, and bulldoze forward then you have a great chance to win. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen that happen to him in this basho and I’m guessing it won’t be the last until he figures out how to deal with that scenario.
Here we are again with Oho. He does something brilliant and then flushes it down the toilet by losing repeatedly. Good grief. I can understand losing to San’yaku rikishi, but losing to Takayasu in his current condition? Disappointing.
Gonoyama presented the formula for beating Kotozakura today: move fast, attack his bad knee, and don’t give him any time to breathe. Thank you, drive through.
Hiradoumi almost caught Hoshoryu out at the tachiai. Hiradoumi was hoping that Hoshoryu would over-extend on the first couple of steps like he has recently. No dice, and a win for the Yokozuna.
Overall, I have no idea who’s stopping Onosato from getting the Cup at this point. Takerufuji had a chance today, but literally got ahead of himself and lost. It’s going to be an interesting second week!
Oho’s finger was not bending the right way after that bout–ring finger on his left hand, I think? That was hard to watch, and his head wound worries me. Feel better, sweet Oho!! And did Ryuden break his nose? A perilous day on the dohyo.
Ah, at last, a second win for Ura, and a first for Gonoyama. I am not a big fan but my heart goes out to him… and Midorifuji, who seems to be troubled by his size this tournament. I have missed the katasukashi.
Onosato’s sumo hasn’t been outstanding but it has been steady and I am extremely ready to welcome a second Yokozuna (knock on wood). Very glad to see the current Yokozuna back to throwing techniques: please, Hoshoryu, prove me wrong.
Excited for Nakabi!
Ryuden routinely won those endurance contests in the past. At age 34, he needs to find quicker solutions, I guess.
Tobizaru-Ura bouts often become two guys standing around slapping at each other’s hands. It was fun to see them actually grappling with each other this time.
Some interesting matches based on the clips.
On the Shishi thing, he is definitely injured. It’s hard to see on the TV coverage but we could tell his left thigh is wrapped pretty tight when we were there on Wednesday and he is obviously favoring it when he walks. Probably a bum hammy.
Kotozakura cursed himself by switching to a black mawashi after becoming Ozeki like Shodai did. If I recall he pulled out the turquoise one in January at the end of the tournament. Maybe he should just stick with it from the beginning.
The new Nagoya venue might be much bigger than the old one, at a listed capacity of 17,000 people, but the Sumo Association is limiting it to just 7,800 for the basho this year, making it almost exactly the same capacity as the old venue. Even though tickets sold out in a flash when they opened yesterday, there will be many thousands of empty seats every day and the entire top floor is not being opened. Why they thought this was a good idea is beyond us here at BST, but if we give them the benefit of the doubt there could be an external reason why (eg. top floor not being finished yet) which hopefully could be changed for next year.
That’s good to note. I hope the Kyokai allocates more in the future. Now that you mention it, I remember seeing that sumo capacity would be lower than for basketball. I didn’t realize that it was that much lower.
Kayo has fun + unexpected lateral mobility/nimbleness .. Hope he can make his sumo work at this level .. cuz he is unique challnge .. a greased bowling ball ..
Some rikishi are a much easier challenge if the opponent can get past a cloud of tsuppari (Abi, Daieisho, Ichiyamamoto, Tamawashi) + get the belt .. that was the story today for all four ..
WTK stoning Daieisho’s tachiai was impressive, as was Kirishima’s deflection of Abi’s flurry of strikes ..These two rikishi look to be returning to form ..
Looking forward to what Hakuoho does vs higher ranked opponents ..
Hoshoryu looks to be more confident in his ability to react to his opponent v trying to dominate the tachiai + immediately over power his opponents .. That is not his strength .. He wants to out-tango his opponents vs turn them into roadkill ..
Takerufuji looks to be leaving matches on the dohyo + letting seeming advantage turn against him ..