If you haven’t yet, check out Leonid’s summary of the Makushita yusho race. There are several familiar names still in the race or ranked in that top makushita joi range. Shimanoumi picked up his first win but is already make-koshi. Is retirement incoming?
In Juryo, Mita defeated Chiyoshoma to pick up his kachi-koshi and take sole lead. He will fight Tohakuryu tomorrow. Asanoyama joins a group of six guys, including Oshoumi, Nishikifuji, Fujiseiun (spoiler!), Kotokuzan, and Asahakuryu in second place.
Your NHK videos are here, along with a nice little feature about Tokonaka, the top-ranked hair-stylist.
Makuuchi Action
Asakoryu (4-5) defeated Shishi (6-3). Shishi couldn’t get his right arm back inside so he dragged Asakoryu to the edge and tried to topple him with a kotenage. Asakoryu countered with his left arm on Shishi’s belt and forced Shishi to fall first. Shitatenage.
Fujiseiun (J 7-2) defeated Sadanoumi (3-6). Fujiseiun visited from Juryo. Sadanoumi did not henka him, which was more than a little disappointing. Fujiseiun quickly got a left-hand grip at the front of Sadanoumi’s mawashi, pulled up, and started to drive forward. He then got his right hand inside to bear hug Sadanoumi. Once he landed that morozashi, Sadanoumi was toast. Yorikiri.
Ryuden (7-2) defeated Tokihayate (3-6). Ryuden patiently let Tokihayate drag him around the right with his hidari-yotsu. Twice, Tokihayate tried to uwatenage Ryuden but he resisted at the bales. The two separated and when they re-engaged Ryuden was able to bear hug Tokihayate and drive him back to the bales. An exhausted Tokihayate capitulated and stepped out. Yorikiri.
Meisei (3-6) defeated Nishikigi (1-8). Meisei wrapped Nishikigi up with a morozashi and drove him over the edge. Yorikiri.
Tomokaze (6-3) defeated Mitakeumi (3-6). Tomokaze charged ahead and shoved Mitakeumi over the edge as if he were a blocking sled from American football. Oshidashi.
Roga (5-4) defeated Shonannoumi (5-4). Shonannoumi drove into Roga and was forcing him to the bales. Roga barely got his left hand inside and wrapped it around Shonannoumi. He pivoted and twisted Shonannoumi down. Makiotoshi.
Shodai (8-1) defeated Tobizaru (6-3). Shodai grabbed Tobizaru’s right arm and tried to drag him to the bales. Tobizaru extracted his arm and pulled away. Shodai chased quickly and shoved Tobizaru off the dohyo and into the third row. Tobizaru did some fansa and was a bit slow to get back to the dohyo, his taped knee seemingly more sensitive than before. Oshidashi.
Churanoumi (6-3) defeated Hitoshi (4-5). Hitoshi pulled and tried a slapdown. Churanoumi drove him back to the bales and off the dohyo. Oshidashi.
Daieisho (3-6) defeated Ura (6-3). Daieisho used his tsuppari sparingly but effectively to keep Ura away and then to drive him over the bales. Ura was never able to get inside to use his own thrusts or get a hold of Daieisho. Tsukiidashi.
Oshoma (5-4) defeated Fujinokawa (3-6). Oshoma grabbed Fujinokawa’s left arm and dragged him over to the bales. He shoved his head back for good measure and this uncomfortable situation significantly reduced Fujinokawa’s willingness to win. Oshoma quickly shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Midorifuji (3-6) defeated Takanosho (7-2). Midorifuji stayed low and pressed his way inside, thus avoiding much of Takanosho’s attack. Midorifuji charged forward and bulled Takanosho over the bales. Yorikiri.
Halftime
Kusano (5-4) defeated Kinbozan (3-6). Kusano stayed low, wrapped up Kinbozan and drove him over the edge. Yorikiri.
Hiradoumi (5-4) defeated Onokatsu (5-4). Hiradoumi’s tachiai was faster than the NHK news break. They cut back from the exchange rate update to sumo already in progress and Hiradoumi shooting like a missile into a surprised Onokatsu. “We’re going already?” Hiradoumi did not relent and drove Onokatsu over the edge. Oshidashi.
Ichiyamamoto (3-6) defeated Gonoyama (0-9). Ichiyamamoto battered Gonoyama and shoved him off the dohyo. Somehow, Gonoyama’s record is worse than Nishikigi’s. Oshidashi.
Oho (5-4) defeated Tamawashi (3-6). Tamawashi passed Takamiyama for third place on the list of all-time makuuchi bouts with 1431. So, if all goes well, the Iron Man could set the record in Osaka? Oho spoiled any celebration by pulling and slapping Tamawashi down at the bales. Hatakikomi.
Sanyaku
Aonishiki (7-2) defeated Abi (0-9). Aonishiki lowered his head and tried to wrap up Abi but Abi’s tsuppari kept him away. Aonishiki advanced steadily. Abi hopped away. Oshidashi.
Hakuoho (6-3) defeated Takayasu (2-7). Hakuoho immediately secured Takayasu in a bear hug and drove him back to the edge and over. His morozashi was just high enough to where Takayasu could not counter with a firm belt grip. Yorikiri.
Kirishima (5-4) defeated Wakatakakage (5-4). Kirishima has put Wakatakakage’s Ozeki run in peril. With a wiggle, Wakatakakage freed himself of Kirishima’s right-hand grip. But Kirishima quickly adjusted and clamped down with his left arm on Wakatakakage’s right. Kirishima pulled Wakatakakage toward the bales and flung him down with a belt-less arm throw. Sukuinage.
Kotozakura (6-3) defeated Atamifuji (2-7). Kotozakura pulled quickly after the tachiai and Atamifuji flopped to the dohyo. Katasukashi.
Hoshoryu (9-0) defeated Kotoshoho (2-7). Kotoshoho brought the noise and forced the Yokozuna to the edge. With a sudden sidestep, Hoshoryu escaped to his left and shoved Kotoshoho’s back, forcing him to stumble forward over the edge. Tsukiotoshi.
Onosato (8-1) defeated Wakamotoharu (6-3). Wakamotoharu briefly got Onosato turned around, raising a few pulses. But the Yokozuna turned quickly, found his quarry, and latched on. Onosato stayed low and drove forward, crushing Wakamotoharu out of the ring and nearly on top of Shikimori Inosuke.
Wrap-up
The Yusho race has tightened as Takanosho fell from the chase pack. Hoshoryu still leads, though he sure dangled a kinboshi in front of Kotoshoho. Kotoshoho looked despondent after he stepped out. He thought he had Hoshoryu but the Yokozuna remains unbeaten.
Onosato similarly had a scare but responded quickly and authoritatively to stay one-loss back. Shodai, yes Shodai has looked just as determined so far this tournament and with his kachi-koshi in hand is free to play spoiler this week or shoot for another title of his own.
Shodai will fight Takanosho tomorrow. The pairing was set before today’s action as a way to narrow the field. There are probably already plans in place to bring Shodai up to fight a sanyaku opponent. I wouldn’t be surprised by a Shodai/Aonishiki pairing for Day 11.
Meanwhile, the Yokozunae will trade opponents with Hoshoryu fighting Wakamotoharu and Onosato set to battle Kotoshoho.
Wakatakakage’s Ozeki run is on life-support. He needs to win out in order to hit that 33-win benchmark. That would be a spectacular run to close a tournament but he would presumably not be in the yusho race, even then. His sumo this tournament has not been terrible but it has definitely been vulnerable. What’s more likely is he will lose another bout or two and this run will fizzle out. He will try to regroup against Hiradoumi tomorrow. A loss and his run is toast.
I certainly have the Hakuoho/Aonishiki bout circled on my calendar for tomorrow. Aonishiki has a 2-0 lead in their head-to-head but Hakuoho is always dangerous. Kotozakura will fight Kirishima in an intriguing bout. Though it will have no bearing on this yusho, both men must feel an urgency to win. Kotozakura has not been fighting well as an Ozeki and a win will help him turn things around.
Likewise, Sekiwake Kirishima is still on that long march back to his old Ozeki rank. With four losses already this basho, he likely won’t be able to count this one in a future Ozeki run but he will need to retain his rank so he can hopefully begin a fresh run in Kyushu.
See you tomorrow! This basho is a good one.
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As proven by Kotoshoho in the last tournament, with suitable match-ups and a little extra effort, lower ranks can always grab the opportunity to become title contenders. Even Ryuden, currently M17 at 7-2, who was relegated to juryo twice within a year and somehow bounced back.
If the audience were to blind guess who might come up with 0-9, Nishikigi would probably reign supreme. But not M3 Gonoyama and M1 Abi. The combined effect of inconsistency, minor injuries and instantaneous variables, I suppose.
I agree with Andy that Nishikigi and Mitakeumi were blocking sleds today. I don’t know if the latter has just given up, if he’s hurt physically, or both. Grief is a challenging thing to deal with.
Kudos to Abi for not henka-ing after his attempt against Hoshoryu. I’m wondering if his back or something similar is the problem, so he can’t move laterally quickly.
Gonoyama definitely needs to go back to the drawing board. Hooo boy. I’m not sure if he’s just a half-step behind this basho or if it’s something else.
Daiesho looks more like himself today which is good to see. Shodai is currently a marvel. Where has this version of Shodai been for a couple of years?
Both Yokozuna got lucky today. That is required sometimes for a record with a lot of wins, but I think they both don’t want to ever have to scramble that much for a win. Wow.
The yokozuna made their own luck quite a bit I think. Hoshoryu’s offense didn’t work at first but his defensive footwork was superb and kept him in the game for long enough to find a path to victory. Onosato screwed up, and then got a bit lucky that Wakamotoharu’s follow-up was off, but he’s such a ridiculous physical specimen that if you give him an inch he’ll take the whole dohyo.
I agree that Hoshoryu didn’t need any luck for his win. But still I saw Kotoshoho back on his level of last basho. A pity that he will probably fall out of the joi again before he couldn’t really adapt.
Onosato‘s luck was that he screwed up against Wakamotoharu; other rikishi like Hoshoryu, Aonishiki, probably Waka‘s little brother and maybe even Kotozakura might not have let him come away with that.
Concerning Asanoyama:
By chance I found out that not only Onosato has fought 203 times in the last five years and has won 154 of them, but Asanoyama too! Yes, he has missed more than half of the possible bouts because of suspension and injuries, but when he actually was on the dohyo, he had the exact same record as the now yokozuna: 203 bouts, 154 wins, 49 losses (not counting fusenpai). These numbers stem not exclusively from makuuchi, but I still find them remarkable.
OMG Shodai! Where do you think he will go from here? Honestly I can just as well see him steaming ahead to claim the cup – or deciding, now he has his kk, that he has done quite enough sumo for one (maybe even two :) basho and go back to his old way of giving up at the slightest resistance. I love the Lord of Chaos.
I’ve been thinking the same thing so I have been holding back not to be a jinx.
I can’t believe Hakuoho is still winning bouts after that severe elbow hyperextension injury in the fight with Kirishima. Now that he has 6 wins, he should consider sitting out the rest of the basho and starting physical therapy. Taking a 3 rank demotion instead of aggravating his injury to levels that may keep him out of the next two tournaments seems like a good trade-off.
Andy – your proposal to Henka all visitors up from Juryo was presented to the Great Sumo Cat of the Kokugikan. The Cat ruled that this systematic henka-ing (a hankering for henkaing) would be considered a form of hazing and therefore the proposal was denied. After all, we could never have hazing in sumo.
Oh, it’s so good to hear of the Great Sumo Cat of the Kokugikan again! Long live that eminent feline!
The Great Sumo Dog on the other side is very much pro hazing, especially when it comes to cats. As felines are like juryo wrestlers in comparison with dogs, who of course represent makuuchi, he is heartily hailing the „hankering for henkaing“ if juryo rikishi are involved.