Day Two in Osaka. We have new reports from the infirmary. Many fans will be happy to hear that Onokatsu and Hakunofuji will sit out starting today. Onokatsu is kyujo because of his ankle. MaciekSumo noticed that Onokatsu received a concussion. He got knocked out by the clash of heads with Ichiyamamoto. He then suffered an ankle sprain as we saw his leg buckle awkwardly.
Hakunofuji aggravated the toe injury he received in January and will go kyujo, as well. The door is obviously open to both men if they decide to return to action.
NHK videos for today’s action are here. Look for this button to expand the videos:
Makuuchi Action
Fujiryoga (1-1) defeated Sadanoumi (1-1). Sadanoumi got in a good hit at the tachiai but Fujiryoga quickly rushed Sadanoumi out behind powerful tsuppari (thrusts). Fujiryoga picks up his first top division victory and a nice handful of kensho. As with Fujiseiun, I am sure there will be plenty more of those in the future. Fujishima beya is becoming quite the little powerhouse. Oshidashi.
Asahakuryu (1-1) defeated Kotoeiho (1-1). Asahakuryu launched out after Kotoeiho and attacked with tsuppari. Kotoeiho tried to use a slapdown counter attack as he retreated around the inside of the tawara but Asahakuryu chased him down and shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Mitakeumi (2-0) defeated Kinbozan (1-1). Like Fujiryoga and Asahakuryu, Kinbozan immediately attacked with strong tsuppari. Mitakeumi attempted to lull Kinbozan into a slapdown or thrust out victory, similar to Kotoeiho. When those attacks failed, he changed strategy, grabbed Kinbozan by his belt and drove him over the edge. Yorikiri.
Chiyoshoma (1-1) defeated Tobizaru (0-2). Chiyoshoma missed with his slapdown attack so he sprung forward to attack Tobizaru. Tobizaru tried his own slapdown but failed as he flew from the dohyo. Oshidashi.
Nishikifuji (2-0) defeated Fujiseiun (1-1). Both men locked on with left-hand inside belt grips. Both men tried to dislodge their opponent’s grips, as we saw in the Konishiki technique videos. Nishikifuji decided to latch on with his right-hand over-arm grip. This improved his leverage and allowed him to force Fujiseiun back and out. Our first real yotsu battle of the day was a good one. Yorikiri.
Asakoryu (2-0) defeated Shishi (1-1). Asakoryu shifted right and pulled Shishi forward with a slapdown attempt. Shishi tried to recover but Asakoryu followed up with a shove from the side. Oshidashi.
Asanoyama (1-1) defeated Oshoumi (0-2). Oshoumi had sold the slapdown the whole way but Asanoyama was able to stay on his feet long enough to shove Oshoumi out first. Oshidashi.
Gonoyama (2-0) defeated Tokihayate (1-1). Gonoyama forced Tokihayate out as Tokihayate tried a slapdown. Yorikiri.
Roga (1-1) defeated Tamawashi (0-2). Roga missed with his left hand mawashi grab. But as Tamawashi charged forward, Roga pulled right and pulled Tamawashi down. Gunbai Roga. No mono-ii. On review, Tamawashi clearly touched down before Roga. Hikiotoshi.
Ura (2-0) defeated Oshoma (1-1). Ura shoved Oshoma out with his hazu-oshi attack. Oshoma was unable to time an effective slapdown. Oshidashi.
Shodai (1-1) default win over Hakunofuji (0-2).
Halftime
Ichiyamamoto (2-0) defeated Abi (0-2). Ichiyamamoto quickly thrust Abi out. Abi had no forward power. Oshidashi.
Kotoshoho (2-0) default win over Onokatsu (0-2).
Hiradoumi (2-0) defeated Daieisho (0-2). Daieisho tried a quick slapdown but Hiradoumi drove him back and out. Oshidashi.
Takanosho (2-0) defeated Oho (0-2). Takanosho will have some awful tournaments. This does not appear to be one. Great fundamentals. Good footwork. He thrust forward into Oho and Oho tried to pull him down. Oho went straight backward and out. You all know how much I love that. We’ve seen a lot of gear boxes stuck in reverse today. Lots of Ls. It’s just basically a forfeit. Throwing in your chips and hoping that splashing the pot somehow takes out your opponent. Oshidashi.
Sanyaku
Churanoumi (1-1) defeated Kirishima (1-1). Kirishima launched out with tsuppari. He tried to side step with a slapdown but that created the opening Churanoumi needed. Churanoumi pressed forward, corralled the Sekiwake and shoved him out. That was not Ozeki-caliber offense. Oshidashi.
Takayasu (2-0) defeated Fujinokawa (0-2). Takayasu fought hard to get his left hand inside. Once he got it, he pressed forward and forced Fujinokawa close to the edge. Fujinokawa brought his right arm up and tried a kubinage but that allowed Takayasu ducked the attack and threw Fujinokawa with that left hand. Sukuinage.
Yoshinofuji (1-1) defeated Aonishiki (1-1). What a bout! Aonishiki landed his right-hand inside grip to Yoshinofuji’s left-hand outside. As Aonishiki tried to get his left-hand inside, too, Yoshinofuji suddenly and violently twisted backward, clockwise, away from that left hand. He spun like the Tasmanian devil, forcing Aonishiki’s back suddenly up against the edge. Yoshinofuji then forced his weight forward, crushing Aonishiki off the dohyo. Yoritaoshi.
Kotozakura (2-0) defeated Wakamotoharu (0-2). Kotozakura retreated and tried to slap Wakamotoharu down. But he shuffled left to stay in bounds. He re-engaged from better position and shoved Wakamotoharu out. Oshidashi.
Hoshoryu (2-0) defeated Wakatakakage (1-1). Hoshoryu tried a slapdown. Wakatakakage kept his footing but Hoshoryu slipped to the left, like Kotozakura against WMH, allowing him to push Wakatakakage out from behind. Okuridashi.
Atamifuji (1-1) defeated Onosato (0-2). Onosato got his right hand inside. Atamifuji couldn’t dislodge it so he wrapped his left hand over it. He got his right hand inside Onosato’s left shoulder, as well, and began to chug forward. Onosato was in trouble so in desperation he pulled back, freed himself of Atamifuji’s grip…and jumped clear of the dohyo. Gunbai Atamifuji. No mono-ii. Yorikiri.
Wrap-up
Well, well, well. Yoshinofuji is first to get dirt on Aonishiki in this tsuna-tori, “rope run,” and he did it very early in the tournament. How will Aonishiki react? Will it all fall apart in a string of losses, like an Onami brother on an Ozeki run? Or will he regroup and find himself in title contention next week? I’ll be tuned in tomorrow to watch!
Hoshoryu never looks strong when he pulls but it was effective today. He will need to muster all of his agility and skill tomorrow as he fights Yoshinofuji.
Then, what of Onosato? Two days in and he has two losses already. Will he right this ship? We’ve got a hot list of bouts tomorrow, that’s for sure. Onosato will fight Fujinokawa. If Onosato retreats from the much smaller Day Three opponent Fujinokawa, I would presume he will sit out.
Aonishiki will fight Wakatakakage, Kotozakura will battle Churanoumi, Kirishima will face Atamifuji and Takayasu will take on Wakamotoharu. There’s a lot of fire in that torikumi, that’s for sure.
Discover more from Tachiai (立合い)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Onosato seems to have no power or control with his left arm. Shall we chalk up another one on the ‘star-rikishi-ruined-by-their-oyakata’ list. He could have sat out January, hell even this basho but no, here we are, with a potentially chronic shoulder issue.
So far this basho has got off to a bad start. Too many injured or under-cooked rikishi with no workable attacks (Abi, Oho), slips and falls on the dohyo (many evil spirits clearly remain in the clay). The negative energy of the Isegahama scandal is hanging around the place too.
Only a miracle yusho for Takanosho or Takayasu will save this basho I fear.
Yeah, seems like “crazy Osaka” is a real thing. I would not be much surprized to see Takayasu vs Hoshsotuy in the final. Thouhg hope (and believe) Aonishiki will rebound with strong wingining steak. Nothing is deceded yet.
BTW – my take that Ononsato will struggle but continue – same as in Jan basho. Dont ask if that makes any sense…
P.S> Apologies with typos in shikonas. My bad…
Day 2, and more than half of the actual matches decided by oshidashi. Agree that Abi and Oho AND Onosato should consider sitting down and getting healed from whatever it is that is obviously limiting their sumo. Yoshinofuji’s continuing dominance over Aonishiki is notable, and suddenly there are questions about the awesome burden of being on the rope-run.
I personally hope (and believe) Aonishiki will rebound with strong wingining steak. But it’s clear that he has “cryptonite” opponents he stguggle with. Yoshi is one of them (and Onosato is another one).
So glad that Hakunofuji is being allowed to go kyujo as of today, day 2. Clearly he was in no shape to fight on day 1, yet was sadly made to. Hoping for a best resolution to the Isegahama beya troubles for all who are touched by it. Not happy to see the injury of Onokatsu either, but glad he is kyujo as well and can hopefully take needed time for healing and appropriate medical treatment.
Perfect opportunity for Hoshoryu to get his first yusho as yokozuna. We’ll see if the Aonishiki loss was just a blip or a bad omen. He tends to not win large stretches (5+ wins) of a basho in a row though, so maybe it’s nothing.
Looks like another “Wasn’t he right in front of me?!” win for Hoshoryu.
Was Hoshoryu’s move at the edge to take the win today from WTK, what Andy calls a pivot, or was that something else?
At the time, I thought it was a shuffle… similar idea but less acute angle.
Ok thanks. To me it happened so fast, looked like the disappearing tablecloth trick, Hosh being the tablecloth, haha…. Only could I see on slow-mo replay how he moved to the side… one benefit / consolation of not watching in person!
It was a “Hakuho” style tawara dance. 😜
What i noticed is that he used those muscular shoulders of his opponent to maximum effect, he leaned on the back of WTK’s neck with both hands as he made his escape
Good matches today, I hope tommorow will be even better. Few thoughts – before the basho my heart was hoping for Fujinokawa to excel, but my brain was saying he will struggle and make-koshi. It’s seems now that the second is happening. Hew needs to find his ways to win by moving sideways, as top guys are not the ones he can just plow through.
Aonishiki was overthinking today. He was too focused on gaining left grip instead of working with what he had (right grip, solid stance and good position). That cost him a win. Learinig how to be fluent and not fixated against his “difficut” oponents is someting that will help him to grow further.
Rewatched on 0.5 speed and full credit goes to Yoshi. He has beaten Aonishiki in his own style, outwreseling and outmanuvering him, not allowing ozeki to bult any offense. That turn at the end by Yushi is similar to what Aonishiki did to Kirishima in Sept.
There’s definitely something up with Tobizaru and Daiesho. It feels like it’s mental, but they might be dinged up somehow. They shouldn’t be losing this easily.
Kudos to Asakoryu for taking Shishi head on and winning. The expectation is that shenanigans would occur and he’s completely uninterested in that idea.
Gonoyama is definitely taking advantage of his position on the banzuke. I hope he keeps racking up the wins because he really should be ranked higher.
Maybe some undercarriage problems for Tamawashi? He seems less powerful and more easy to beat this basho for some reason.
I really have no idea why Abi is on the dohyo. He’s not in danger of being demoted to Juryo, so why continue to attempt to fight when it’s obvious that resting would be better for him?
A great win by Yoshinofuji! Rivals are important and I think he and Aonishiki will clash horns quite often in the coming bashos.
Ol’ Twinkletoes Hoshoryu with a win today. My goodness, I bet Wakatakakage is really grumpy about that loss.
WHK gave everyone the strategy to beat Onosato in this tournament. Atamifuji proved that it wasn’t a fluke. Onosato is still good enough as he is to maybe get 8 wins, but if this is a long term problem, he’s in real trouble.
I, too, am eager for this Yoshinofuji vs Aonishiki rivalry.
All six rikishi in this century with zero wins from M5e have been demoted, therefore Abi probably needs at least one win (by a henka?).
Good point.
Interesting! Thank you for telling me and that definitely makes things make more sense for Abi. I unfortunately don’t think his back will allow him the agility needed to henka properly, though. We’ll see, I guess?
Abi going kyujo is likely sealing his fate. I’m guessing the same holds for M6 and M7 booking their tickets on the Juryo barge as well. Midorifuji’s ticket is confirmed.
Busy in the Infirmary this basho.
Abi is another wrestler who probably needs to sit out. He looked like he was in horrible shape against Ichiyamamoto.
Onosato may very well need surgery on that shoulder and a lengthy rehab. Even then, it may not be enough to fully recover.
Yoshinofujii is, outside Onosato, Aonishiki’s kryptonite right now. But boy did he have to pull off one heck of a move to win that quickly. Occasionally that risk taking doesn’t work, but it sure makes matches exciting. I’m hoping Aonishiki bounces back strong tomorrow, but he’ll definitely have to earn Yokozuna as he’s in everyone’s sights right now.
Nothing to add to the perceptive comments above, other than to add, did anyone else notice the “ahhh” of appreciation around the arena as Asakoryu flexed prior to his match? I rewound just to be sure of what I was hearing. Yep, definitely more than a murmur!
Whilst part of me went “yes” as certain people lost, I don’t like people to lose because they’re injured. This is one area of sumo that bothers me, the need to compete or lose your ranking, without any grace period. Brutal.
I believe that the policy of imposing harsh demotions for injury absences has weakened sumo by increasing the number of long-term injuries. I think that the sport, and the rikishi would be healthier if there was a grace period for injuries. My other complaint is that the banzuke commitee considers an absence to be the same as a loss, or even worse. So an absent rikishi ends up ranked below another without the second rikishi actually having to prove he is better in combat. Something not right there.. The sumo experts support the demotion policy, but they have never succeeded in convincing me that it is right.
I agree. In the current system, it takes multiple good basho to make up for one missed basho (an absence being 0-15, while a good basho is rarely 15-0…) and that seems very unbalanced.
He [Yoshinofuji] spun like the Tasmanian devil…
Had me believing for a minute that the Ozeki was an Oz-eki