We had a great first day of action, especially for the top-ranked wrestlers. Both Yokozuna and our Ozeki won their bouts. Onosato, in particular, looked dominant in his victory over the promising young Ukrainian, Aonishiki. Wakatakakage stumbled in his first bout, though, as he tries for Ozeki promotion. We will see if he can make up for the setback today.
Your NHK Day Two videos are here. The Grand Sumo App from Dwango will be the best option for those Juryo videos for now. You can find the link on the sumo.or.jp homepage, toward the bottom.
Makuuchi Action
Oshoumi (2-0) defeated Hitoshi (0-2). Oshoumi plowed forward and Hitoshi tried to twist and throw with his right hand. Oshoumi just continued to press forward, trapped Hitoshi’s right arm, and dragged Hitoshi down. Kotenage.
Shishi (1-1) defeated Tomokaze (1-1). Tomokaze rotated and pulled, trying a slapdown. This just helped Shishi shove him out faster. Oshidashi.
Ryuden (2-0) defeated Nishikigi (0-2). Ryuden wrapped Nishikigi up and drove him over the edge with relative ease. It’s Day Two but Nishikigi is looking like he wants to buy a ticket for the barge to Juryo, already. Yorikiri.
Tobizaru (2-0) defeated Sadanoumi (1-1). Tobizaru hit out at Sadanoumi forcefully at the tachiai but suddenly grabbed Sadanoumi’s right arm and pulled. As Sadanoumi stumbled forward, Tobizaru grabbed Sadanoumi’s belt and pushed him down to finish him off. Hikiotoshi.
Asakoryu (1-1) defeated Shonannoumi (0-2). Asakoryu hit Shonannoumi hard and drove him back. Shonannoumi pivoted and peeked over Asakoryu’s back, tried to reach in and pull but Asakoryu just slammed into him and drove him out. Oshidashi.
Tokihayate (1-1) defeated Mitakeumi (0-2). Tokihayate overpowered Mitakeumi head-to-head and drove him back and out. Yorikiri.
Roga (2-0) defeated Meisei (1-1). Roga drove Meisei back to the edge but Meisei resisted the charge and drove him back through the ring. At the edge, Roga slapped Meisei down as he fell out. Gunbai Meisei. We got our first mono-ii of the tournament. On video review, Meisei touched down while Roga was still in the dohyo. Uwatenage.
Shodai (2-0) defeated Daieisho (1-1). Daieisho slammed into Shodai, driving him back to the edge. Shodai suddenly slipped to the side with a shove to Daieisho’s shoulder to throw him off balance. Daieisho tried to regroup but Shodai pounced and shoved Daieisho out while he retreated. Okuridashi.
Churanoumi (1-1) defeated Fujinokawa (0-2). Churanoumi got his right hand inside and drove Fujinokawa toward the bales but Fujinokawa escaped and countered with strong tsuppari. Churanoumi wrangled Fujinokawa again, though, and drove him back and over the bales. Yorikiri.
Ura (2-0) defeated Midorifuji (1-1). Ura got his left hand inside and right hand outside grip. Once corralled, Ura pulled up and charged ahead. Midorifuji pivoted as he was driven back, trying to shake Ura loose. But Ura drove Midorifuji down onto the bales. Yoritaoshi.
Oshoma (1-1) defeated Kinbozan (0-2). As Kinbozan charged ahead, Oshoma pivoted, grabbed Kinbozan’s belt with his left hand and threw him to the ground. The quick, powerful move drew “Oohs” from the crowd. Uwatenage.
Halftime
Onokatsu (2-0) defeated Takanosho (1-1). Takanosho forced Onokatsu to the edge with a powerful nodowa. Onokatsu was able to escape to his left along the tawara. Takanosho was off balance as he pursued so Onokatsu helped finish him off with a shove over the edge. Oshidashi.
Ichiyamamoto (1-1) defeated Kusano (0-2). Ichiyamamoto overpowered Kusano, drove him back and over the edge. Oshidashi.
Kotoshoho (1-1) defeated Hiradoumi (1-1). Kotoshoho weathered Hiradoumi’s energetic attack and neither man wanted to allow the other inside to get a grip, so both men hit each other with tsuppari. Kotoshoho pulled back and Hiradoumi charged forward. Kotoshoho pivoted to his left and caught Hiradoumi off-balance. Hiradoumi stumbled while Kotoshoho shoved him down from the side. Tsukiotoshi.
Wakamotoharu (2-0*) defeated Gonoyama (0-2). This was a great back-and-forth as both men traded taking the offensive. Gonoyama charged forward, then pulled. He charged forward again, using a bit more mis-direction and agility than what I usually see from him. Wakamotoharu kept Gonoyama in front of him and drove him over the edge as Gonoyama tried another pull. Oshidashi.
*corrected Wakamotoharu’s record. Thx, Markus.
Sanyaku
Aonishiki (1-1) defeated Atamifuji (1-1). Aonishiki displayed a lot of power by forcing Atamifuji around the ring. But Atamifuji stayed with him. Aonishiki tried an uchimuso but Atamifuji came down on top of him. Gunbai Aonishiki. “Who touched first?” Mono-ii. Judges decided on a rematch. In the rematch, Atamifuji tried a slapdown but Aonishiki kept his balance. Atamifuji had a grip deep over Aonishiki’s back but Aonishiki charged forward and forced Atamifuji out. Yorikiri.
Wakatakakage (1-1) defeated Oho (0-2). Wakatakakage bounced back well from his loss yesterday. He attacked Oho, got his right hand inside immediately and pressed Oho to the bales. At the bales, he got his left hand inside as well and forced Oho to step out. Yorikiri.
Kirishima (2-0) defeated Abi (0-2). Abi lashed out forcefully with his tsuppari. He followed up with a pull. Kirishima maintained his balance and kept up the pressure, eventually twisting Abi down. Despite the loss, Abi seems more active and stronger than in recent basho. I’ll be keeping my eye on him if he can keep this up. Sukuinage.
Kotozakura (2-0) defeated Hakuoho (1-1). Hakuoho charged forward and Kotozakura absorbed his tachiai. As Kotozakura tried to slip his right hand inside, he thought better of it, shifted to his left and pulled Hakuoho down. Tsukiotoshi.
Onosato (2-0) defeated Tamawashi (0-2). Tamawashi lashed out with a powerful nodowa against the Yokozuna. But Onosato batted his arm away, slipped to the side and slapped the geezer down. Tsukiotoshi.
Hoshoryu (2-0) defeated Takayasu (0-2). Hoshoryu was aggressive but patient today. He got his right hand inside immediately and tried several times to pull Takayasu over. Takayasu resisted and stayed in the bout for a long time but Hoshoryu worked his right hand inside for a morozashi grip. Once Hoshoryu got that double-inside grip, he plowed forward and forced Takayasu out. Yorikiri.
Wrap-up
It’s kind of funny how sumo seems to be the only sport where I hear the crowd give an appreciative cheer when there are more ads. There was a stonking load of kensho banners for the musubi-no-ichiban. That means a big ole stack of envelopes for the winner. Each time the yobidashi turned around to get another banner and go back up to the dohyo, the crowd gave an approving cheer.
Great action so far. Aonishiki almost pulled off another one of his brilliant finishes. Atamifuji’s reaction, though, probably deserved the win as he fell into the komusubi and knocked him down. I am sure Aonishiki will see the vulnerability and adjust his strategy accordingly.
Takayasu will fight Oho tomorrow with both men looking for their first win. Atamifuji will fight Kirishima. Wakatakakage will fight Tamawashi. Kotozakura gets his turn against Aonishiki on Day Three while Hoshoryu will fight Hakuoho. The musubi-no-ichiban will feature Onosato against a seemingly healthy and genki Abi. We might have some surprises tomorrow! For now, I’m going to get some coffee.
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The Grand Sumo app would be great if they didn’t show who won before one can start the video.
Exactly. I have this elaborate…well, maybe not (!)…system where I try not to see who won. But usually get a glimpse anyway.
It would take a fitting cardboard frame to put on the screen, otherwise it’s impossible for me not to notice the red light.
Kotozakura is looking great so far, and Shishi too, even on yesterdays loss.
Agreed and I also think that’s good to see. Shishi bounced back nicely with his win today.
My assumption about Nishikigi is that he has a back injury. He’s moving stiffly and keeps his torso rigid when he goes out of the ring. Unfortunate, if true.
Kinbozan needs some new answers on the dohyo. Nothing he’s doing is working and he’s near the front of the line for the Juryo barge too in my opinion.
Another frustrating loss from Takanosho. He definitely over-committed to his attack today. I’m wondering if he has a similar problem to Onosho in that department.
Lots of good stuff from the upper reaches of the banzuke today on the dohyo. Love to see it!
That was a statement win by Ichiyamamoto today. My goodness. Kusano also needs to update his sumo.
Kudos to Atamifuji for really going after Aonishiki today. I hope he shows more of that fire through the rest of the basho.
I suspect losing yesterday really focused Wakatakakage. Simple, straightforward win.
Abi reminded me of a Warner Brothers cartoon character attempting to run across a soapy floor today at the end of his bout. It was interesting to watch Kirishima control Abi’s arms and then use that leverage to over-balance Abi.
I don’t mind Hakuoho expressing his frustration today. It shows he cares and he hates making mistakes. That’s good for his development.
Onosato with a “You aren’t doing this to me again” win today. Really glad to see him and Hoshoryu settle in and take care of business.
Kinbozan is very far from juryo, with only three wins he’ll stay in makuuchi. To put him in the front line for demotion after two bouts seems a bit premature!
Agree. I presume that if Kinbozan fought at the bottom of the division he would have an easy and early kachi-koshi.
I don’t know why, but I was under the impression that Ura I was going to be sitting this one out from injuries. Glad to see he’s back and also on a winning streak.
While extremely doubtful, it would be just amazing to see him take a Basho.
Ura was out the last couple of days in Nagoya so you are not far off there. I’m glad he is back and fighting well.
On Nishikigi, he was absent from the August jungyo, as he had a very bad case of cellulitis that necessitated hospitalization for 3 weeks, so he is in a very weakened state and he’s lost a lot of weight, you can see it mainly in his arms and face. I guess he wanted to give it a go, but I think it would have been a better idea to sit this basho out. He’s had cellulitis before, but this last time was severe, nothing to ignore.
Ah, I see! Thank you for the information. I guess having a losing record is better for banzuke rank than being out injured. Sad to hear that, honestly.
Thanks, Andy. The real blessing of this tournament is that we get you writing for the whole time this time around! Really pleased that Kotozakura is, like Abi, looking a bit more active and powerful than in recent tourneys. If WTK can’t make Ozeki, at least Kotozakura can look more like one himself!
I have no clue how Ura does what Ura does with the knees that Ura has. Amazing.
Isn’t Wakamotoharu at 2-0 instead of 1-1 as per the text?
Yes. I gave him his brother’s loss.
The surgeons who operated on Ura’s knees deserve a special prize.
I’m amazed that he’s lasted this long, particularly given his style, which depends on getting low, mobility, and then getting even lower.
Can we please get a kagayaki comment? I can’t help but love that big lug :-) especially when he gets a “W”.
Thanks for the reviews