Follow this link for NHK videos with Day Two action. Aki basho videos are also available for you to review, here. It looks like you can think of that second link as your “home page” for the NHK videos. Day One action is available there, too. All of the videos are there, including the second half which I didn’t see up there yesterday.
The timing on these videos seems comparable to the previous website. As I’m drafting this, the Kotoshoho/Daieisho bout just finished and Fujinokawa/Gonoyama is already posted. Issues yesterday may have been due to my incompetence in navigating to and linking to the new site…or to NHK having to deal with earthquake coverage at the same time. But it looks like all Day One action is there. I’m just about to push the publish button and all Day Two bouts appear to be there already. Let me know if you have any issues.
In Juryo, Mita was taken to the hospital after his abisetaoshi loss to Kagayaki due to a painful injury to his right knee. Our hopes are that the youngster’s injury is not as bad as feared and that he can recover quickly.
Makuuchi Action
Chiyoshoma (2-0) defeated Fujiseiun (Juryo, 0-2). Henka! Fujiseiun adjusted but Chiyoshoma grabbed Fujiseiun’s shoulder and slapped him down at the edge. Hatakikomi.
Asakoryu (2-0) defeated Oshoumi (1-1). Asakoryu used his misdirection well, shifting to the side after the tachiai and blasting Oshoumi head-on with a nodowa. As Oshoumi advanced to counter, Asakoryu shifted to the side and pulled him down. Hikiotoshi.
Sadanoumi (1-1) defeated Shonannoumi (0-2). Sadanoumi locked up Shonannoumi’s right arm with his right hand and gripped his belt with his left and pulled. Sadanoumi rotated backwards, yanked Shonannoumi to the bales and deposited his opponent over the edge. Uwatenage.
Nishikifuji (1-1) defeated Ryuden (1-1). This was really a one-sided affair as Nishikifuji plugged away with his thrusts, forcing Ryuden back to the edge. Ryuden tried to block the incoming thrusts and get some sort of forward motion but Nishikifuji kept laying into him and thrust him over the bales. Tsukidashi.
Tokihayate (2-0) defeated Mitakeumi (0-2). Mitakeumi forced Tokihayate over to the bales and pressed forward. Tokihayate slipped from his grasp to the right and pulled Mitakeumi over the bales with his right hand. Uwatenage.
Fujinokawa (2-0) defeated Gonoyama (1-1). Henka! Fujinokawa leapt to his right at the initial charge. Gonoyama pivoted to chase him, leading with his forearm. Fujinokawa then jumped to the side, again, as Gonoyama rushed headlong to the edge and Fujinokawa shoved him as he ran past. Tsukiotoshi.
Roga (1-1) defeated Tomokaze (0-2). Tomokaze began to press forward but Roga put his right arm up behind his neck and pulled. Hatakikomi.
Kotoshoho (1-1) defeated Daieisho (1-1). Kotoshoho charged forward and then pulled quickly, almost catching Daieisho at the start of the bout. Daieisho stumbled forward but recovered. He shoved Kotoshoho to the edge but Kotoshoho slipped to his left and thrust Daieisho down. Tsukiotoshi.
Shishi (1-1) defeated Tobizaru (1-1). Tobizaru let Shishi drive forward and then jumped to the right, thinking Shishi would lumber on by. Shishi did not fall for it and made Tobizaru look absolutely silly as he easily shoved him off the dohyo. Oshidashi.
Ichiyamamoto (1-1) defeated Midorifuji (0-2). Ichiyamamoto did a great job of adjusting. First, he came at Midorifuji with tsuppari. Midorifuji shifted to the side and nearly caught Ichiyamamoto out. But Ichiyamamoto recovered quickly and tried to wrap up Midorifuji, shifting to a yotsu strategy. Midorifuji shrugged him off and the two tested each other out. Eventually, Ichiyamamoto opted for the slapdown. He tried to shove Midorifuji down but Midorifuji resisted. Ichiyamamoto then reached over Midorifuji’s back, grabbed his belt by near the knot and pulled him down. Uwatenage.
Abi (2-0) defeated Kinbozan (1-1). Abi pulled to his right with Kinbozan in hot pursuit. Abi grabbed at Kinbozan’s arms to pull him forward to the edge. He then quickly followed up, leading with his head and forearms to drive Kinbozan over the tawara. Oshidashi.
Halftime
Churanoumi (2-0) defeated Atamifuji (1-1). Churanoumi hit Atamifuji head-on at the tachiai but shifted right slightly and immediately thrust Atamifuji down. Misdirection is as much a part of this game as raw power. Atamifuji invested too heavily in the raw power for this bout and essentially drove himself into the ground. Tsukiotoshi.
Onokatsu (1-1) defeated Shodai (0-2). Shodai drove Onokatsu to the edge and then pulled but Onokatsu had a solid grip of Shodai’s belt and kept his balance. Onokatsu pressed forward as Shodai tried to shift at the edge. But Onokatsu forced Shodai out first. Today’s first yorikiri.
Tamawashi (1-1) defeated Yoshinofuji (1-1). Tamawashi powered through Yoshinofuji’s tsuppari and drove the youngster out quickly. After the bout, it seemed difficult for Tamawashi to stay in his sankyo crouch to pick up his kensho-kin bounty. Watch this space as the Iron Man might be having a knee or lower back issue. Oshidashi.
Oshoma (1-1) solved Ura (1-1). Oshoma kept up steady thrusts and shoved Ura back to the bales. Ura’s hazuoshi game was getting him nowhere. At the edge, Ura tried a last ditch effort to get low and inside but capitulated when he failed. Tsukidashi.
Sanyaku
Takayasu (1-1) defeated Hiradoumi (1-1). Hiradoumi tried to get his right hand inside but Takayasu shoved him hard to keep him away. He did not want a yotsu grapple. The crowd loved the way these two traded tsuppari. Hiradoumi seemed to be catching the worst of it and tried to get his head out of the way. Takayasu then pulled and tried to slap Hiradoumi down. Hiradoumi stumbled forward a step, giving Takayasu access to his belt. Takayasu quickly grabbed it and hauled Hiradoumi down. Uwatenage.
Aonishiki (2-0) defeated Wakamotoharu (0-2). Hidariyotsu. Wakamotoharu should have committed more to his left-hand ottsuke because when Aonishiki got that firm right overarm grip, he controlled the bout. As low as he was, it seemed Aonishiki was looking for an opening to pull or some way to bring Wakamotoharu forward. In the end, though, Aonishiki drove his own way forward and plowed Wakamotoharu through the dohyo and over the edge. Yoritaoshi.
Oho (2-0) defeated Wakatakakage (0-2). Oho quickly grabbed Wakatakakage’s right arm, shifted to his left and pulled Wakatakakage down. Wakatakakage seemed to still be trying to get a grip and figure out what to do. Oho clearly had a plan and executed. Well done. Kotenage.
Kirishima (1-1) defeated Kotozakura (1-1). Kotozakura committed to a pull and lost all position. With his heels on the tawara he tried to regroup but Kirishima forced him over the edge. Yorikiri.
Onosato (2-0) defeated Hakuoho (1-1). Hakuoho tried to keep Onosato’s right arm away and initially had success shifting Onosato to the side. But when he drove forward with a nodowa, Onosato stood his ground like a concrete wall. Onosato then reached over and had unfettered acces to Hakuoho’s belt. With that grip, he drove forward and deposited Hakuoho over the bales. Yoritaoshi.
Hoshoryu (1-1) defeated Takanosho (0-2). Hoshoryu moved forward and forced the overwhelmed komusubi from the dohyo as if he didn’t deserve to be there in the first place. Oshidashi.
Wrap-up
Whatever I said about Kotozakura looking impressive yesterday…well…that was yesterday. Today was not good. He will face Takayasu tomorrow. On the other hand, Onosato is his dominant self. After a brief moment where it looked like Hakuoho had an opening, Onosato slammed that door in his face. Onosato will fight Wakatakakage tomorrow. Hakuoho will take his turn with Aonishiki. These sanyaku bouts are lit.
Hoshoryu will fight Kirishima. Both men are at 1-1. Oho will fight Hiradoumi and the trials of Takanosho will continue tomorrow with Wakamotoharu. It will not be an easy two weeks for the Tokiwayama heyagashira.
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Does anyone know if Asanoyama has some injury?
He is now 0-2 in Juryo.
Thanks Andy. I shall not be able to catch the highlight show later on, so your wonderfully descriptive summation will carry me through to tomorrow admirably! Thank you.
Hurrah! Hoshoryu, Aonishiki, Kirishima , and my favorite at the other end of the banzuke, Asakoryu, each had a good day.
Mita’s injury is terrible to watch. Still, looks like it could have been much worse. A Japanese viewer’s comment on Youtube brings a notable perspective, via automatic translation: “Until now, I’ve never thought highly of sumo wrestlers who don’t hold on to the edge of the ring. But when I see things like this, I realize that being brave/rational and accepting defeat is a way to avoid injury.”
With it being an ACL injury figure ten months minimum.
Early thoughts after day 2 action:
Ichiyamamoto seems to have continued to work on his yotsu. Still not a strength, but no longer the major weakness it was. I’m a yotsu guy, so I love it.
Oho is once again flashing his talent. I am still puzzled as to why he hasn’t been more consistent, as the size and strength seem to be there.
Aonishiki, still doing well but boy is he having to work hard for those wins. I really love watching him wrestle.
Onosato is starting to remind me of peak Terunofuji. Even if the opponent gets a slight edge, he shuts them down. Hoshoryu is going to have to bring it every day like he did today to keep up.
I don’t know that Oho had much of a plan — who plans on giving up a double-inside grip? — but he instantly found an offensive resource in a bad position. One can’t really be a top-flight rikishi without the ability to turn the tables, to be a threat even when one’s opponent has gained an advantage.
My boy has come a long way from the baffled and bamboozled shin-maegashira of four years ago; could this be his break-out basho? Fingers crossed.
That‘s the umpteenth time fans are hoping for his great breakthrough and I can see why.
But meanwhile he is not that young anymore and still his only consistency unfortunately seems to consist of his inconsistency. (Without that I guess he could be up there with Hoshoryu and Aonishiki as main contenders for Onosato, in front of Kotozakura, Hakuoho and maybe Yoshinofuji.)
Abi and Chiyoshoma look to have rebounded (recovered ?) from the last basho .. Kirishima flashed some basic sumo (head under the chin) today .. I hope he can build on it w his athleticism … perhaps some neck/back issues have resolved ..
Aonishiki’s disciplined approach is impressive .. he sticks w his plan and is going to beat whomever tries to get an advantage on the belt .
.each Basho it seems Hoshoryu needs to get his reactions back up to “basho” speed .. today he was on top of Takanosho before he could get his nodowa in place .. the only option was retreat .. to bad it took an L to get Hoshoryu back into basho speed ..
You saw that squat adjustment by Tamawashi as well, eh? As an old guy who’s had knee injuries in the past, that looked a lot like his right knee had sometime out of place that he had to straighten his leg to correct. I hope I’m wrong. And his bout was super impressive. Peak Tamawashi. He is easily the guy I would most want to have a beer with. Fingers crossed the Ironman will do a little tac weld overnight and be good to go tomorrow.
My thoughts too, more of an adjustment than anything else.