Day Ten in Osaka. No news from the infirmary. No news is good news.
In Juryo action, Kazuma held on to his position with one loss by defeating Kitanowaka with a yorikiri force out. He’s now 9-1. He shared the lead coming into today with Wakanosho, who will fight Nishikifuji in our Makuuchi bouts. Kazekeno and Dewanoryu both won their bouts today and are one loss back at 8-2.
Kazuma will fight Toshinofuji (7-2) tomorrow. Dewanoryu will fight Wakanosho and Kazekeno will fight Kitanowaka. Enho will visit Juryo tomorrow to fight Kotokuzan, who is 3-7 at the tail end of the division. A loss will obviously seal his make-koshi and put him in a demotable position. A win will put Enho in great position to claim the spot.
Before I forget, your NHK videos are here.
Makuuchi Action
Kotoeiho (7-3) defeated Chiyoshoma (5-5). Kotoeiho grabbed Chiyoshoma’s belt with his left hand inside and rotated to his right, dragging Chiyoshoma to the floor. Shitatenage.
Nishikifuji (5-5) defeated Wakanosho (Juryo 8-2). Wakanosho dished out a flurry of tsuppari to Nishikifuji’s face and shoulders but Nishikifuji fought back with his own tsuppari and drove Wakanosho back and out. Wakanosho tried to slip away and slap Nishikifuji down but Nishikifuji kept him centered and shoved him out. Oshidashi.
Mitakeumi (5-5) defeated Tobizaru (3-7). Mitakeumi nearly slapped Tobizaru down but Tobizaru maintained his balance. When Tobizaru was able to right himself and lock on to Mitakeumi’s belt, however, he had terrible position along the tawara. Mitakeumi quickly forced him over the bales. Yorikiri.
Asanoyama (6-4) defeated Fujiryoga (5-5). Weight room. Asanoyama grabbed Fujiryoga with his left-hand uwate and powered him back over the edge. Yorikiri.
Kinbozan (5-5) defeated Shishi (5-5). Kinbozan’s powerful tsuppari forced Shishi back. Kinbozan shoved him hard with the left and stepped to the side, slapping Shishi down with the right. Hikiotoshi.
Asahakuryu (7-3) defeated Oshoumi (2-8). Hidari yotsu. Oshoumi tried to use gaburi hip thrusts to force Asahakuryu back and out. But Asahakuryu rotated and pulled Oshoumi down. Oshoumi makekoshi. Uwatenage.
Gonoyama (9-1) defeated Asakoryu (6-4). Asakoryu’s henka was spoiled by a matta. Gonoyama charged forward, leading with his forearm. He then pulled and slapped Asakoryu down. Hatakikomi.
Fujiseiun (7-3) drove into Roga (3-7) and tried to push him over the edge. Roga resisted so Fujiseiun wrapped his right foot behind Roga’s left and used his right-hand inside belt hold to pull Roga down. Kirikaeshi.
Tamawashi (3-7) defeated Oshoma (4-6). Three powerful thrusts and Tamawashi forced Oshoma to the bales. Oshoma tried to slip to the side but Tamawashi said, “not so fast, kiddo.” Tamawashi turned left and drove back into Oshoma one more time, shoving him over the edge. Oshidashi.
Hakunofuji (3-3-4) defeated Ura (4-6). Hakunofuji kicked out at Ura’s left foot and then pulled him forward to the ground while hopping back. Hakunofuji won but wrenched that left foot. He needed help from the yobidashi to step down from the dohyo. Hopefully Hakunofuji will sit on the couch and prop his foot up on that kensho and stay there until the end of the tournament. You’ve got to feel for Ura. After a great start he’s lost six of his last seven bouts, getting robbed of a stack of sponsor money each time. Uwatenage.
Halftime
Ichiyamamoto (5-5) defeated Tokihayate (4-6). Ichiyamamoto dove forward, forcing Tokihayate to step out. Gunbai Ichiyamamoto. Mono-ii. Replay showed Tokihayate rotating to push Ichiyamamoto down but he stepped out while Ichiyamamoto was still coming forward and yet down. Yorikiri.
Shodai (7-3) defeated Kotoshoho (8-2). Shodai wasn’t having any of this Kotoshoho yusho run business. Shodai powered through and spoiled Kotoshoho’s day. Kotoshoho tried to slip to his right and throw Shodai at the edge but Shodai adjusted well and crushed Kotoshoho down. Yoritaoshi.
Wakatakakage (5-5) defeated Fujinokawa (4-6). Wakatakakage contained Fujinokawa’s advance. When Fujinokawa reacted with a pull, Wakatakakage drove forward and forced him out. Oshidashi.
Abi (2-3-5) defeated Yoshinofuji (4-6). Abi hit Yoshinofuji at the tachiai. Yoshinofuji was anchored with his right leg but it slipped and he went down. Oshitaoshi.
Sanyaku
Atamifuji (6-4) defeated Churanoumi (3-7). Churanoumi sinned by pulling so Atamifuji escorted him back and out. Imagine a bar, called “Sanyaku” with Atamifuji as the bouncer. “Don’t bring that weak mess around here.” Oshidashi.
Kirishima (9-1) defeated Takanosho (7-3). Takanosho tried to slap Kirishima down but Kirishima kept his footing. When Takanosho charged forward to re-engage, Kirishima leapt back and pulled Takanosho down. Hikiotoshi.
Oho (4-6) defeated Takayasu (6-4). Takayasu had his left arm hooked around Oho’s right and pulled him forward over the bales while stepping out. Gunbai Oho. Mono-ii. Judges ruled both men were out at the same time. Rematch. On the redo, Oho blitzed Takayasu and drove him out quickly while Takayasu was still looking for that sashi. Yorikiri.
Aonishiki (5-5) defeated Hiradoumi (5-5). You thought the two were settling into a lean when all of a sudden Aonishiki used that left-hand uwate to fling Hiradoumi forward. Hiradoumi was just as shocked as us. Uwatenage.
Kotozakura (6-4) defeated Daieisho (4-6). Kotozakura read the brief. At the tachiai, Kotozakura absorbed Daieisho’s forward thrust, shifted right a little and slapped Daieisho down. Hatakikomi.
Hoshoryu (8-2) defeated Wakamotoharu (2-8). Hoshoryu blitzed Wakamotoharu, drove him back and slammed him out. Hoshoryu kachi-koshi. Wakamoto make-koshi. Oshitaoshi.
Wrap-up
Hoshoryu earned his eighth win today, and with it he locked in Wakamotoharu’s demotion from Sanyaku for Natsu. Importantly, Hoshoryu stays on the leaderboard.
Leaderboard:
- 1-Loss: Kirishima, Gonoyama
- 2-Losses: Hoshoryu, Kotoshoho
Tomorrow, Atamifuji has bouncer duty against Daieisho. Wakamotoharu will face Oho. Kirishima will fight Gonoyama in a highlight bout. Let’s see if the rank-and-filer can prove his mettle. Kotozakura will then fight Takanosho, Aonishiki will fight Kotoshoho, and Hoshoryu will close out the day against Takayasu.
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What a beautiful throw from Hoshoryu… wait a second, that wasnt the yokozuna!
With Abi and Hakunofuji collecting white stars after returning from the sidelines, they are expected to stay in the top lineup at Natsu.
Agree that Hakunofuji should prop up his bad ankle and enjoy the fat stack of kensho while watching from the comfort of his LazyBoy for the last third.
Can Aonishiki win out, or will he get the dreaded “Hachinana” that currently resides with the West Ozeki?
Speaking of which, KotoHachinana isn’t out of the woods yet. Tougher opponents await in the upcoming days and his record against them is poor.
Let’s Go, Enho! (clap,clap — clap,clap,clap)
Today we finally saw the all out I’ll follow you to the ground sumo from Aonishiki that we’re used to seeing. Maybe the nerves are gone, the injury’s healed, or whatever was causing his slump is now in the past. At 5-5 and maybe with some momentum 8-7 doesn’t seem crazy.
Great to see Kirishima keep rolling too!
I’m still hoping he hits 10 and keeps the streak of double-digit wins intact.
I’d love to see it too. Quite possible given his matchup history. Onosato’s out, and he’s basically owned Hoshoryu and Kotozakura. It’s not his opponents as much as it is him getting on the top of his game.
Shodai is the worst.
You can call it a slip but for me Abi knocked out Yoshinofuji.
I’m not sure if Abi clocked Yoshinofuji, Yoshinofuji’s ankle crumpled, or both. I will give kudos to Abi for immediately checking on Yoshinofuji, though. He definitely knew something was wrong.
Asakuryu should have repeated that henka.
As soon as Wakanosho started his tsuppari, I said, “He’s going to lose. He’s too high.” I hope he learned a lesson from this bout. He’s going to need that knowledge and more in the next basho.
Mitakeumi doesn’t want to lose and it’s obvious. I’m wondering where this version of him was for the first five matches.
Shishi is an absolute mess right now. I’m hoping he’ll figure things out in the next couple of months and come back with a better sumo skill set. Fingers crossed.
I was waiting for the banzuke committee to stop screwing around with Gonoyama’s schedule and they’re challenging him starting tomorrow. Good. I hope they keep him at the top of the banzuke for the rest of the basho. It’s where he belongs.
Kirishima has been doing a high quality Kakuryu impression to win his last two matches or so. I don’t think that’ll work against Gonoyama, but we’ll see.
Tough loss for Takayasu today. Always a bridesmaid.
There’s that Plan B I was hoping that Aonishiki had in his locker. Beautiful throw!
It seems like Hoshoryu is using a “no fuss, no muss” brand of sumo right now and it’s serving him well. It’s highly possible that his knee injury has caused him to focus on fundamentals which will help him depend less on big throws to win.
Wow, I think Hakunofuji’s win over Ura today was the definition of Pyrrhic victory. Here’s hoping he drops out for the rest of the basho.
SHODAI, LORD OF CHAOS, IN THE HOUSE!
Seriously, yet another example of Shodai being Shodai. Never know when he’s going to bring it.
Great to see Aonishiki fight back from a tough position and get the win. He has been breached under the shoulder (especially that left one) more so far than the last two basho combined. Made me wonder about a Chris Sumo video I watched where Hoshoryu showed up to a joint practice and called him out. They went 2-2, but Aonishiki left soon after getting hit by an arm bar from Hoshoryu. They didn’t report any injury (they rarely do), but it’s made me wonder if one of his arms is banged up. That uwatenage alleviates some of my concerns, but I can’t help but wonder if there was something there.
lksumo reckoned a toe issue, although I haven’t heard anything about that on the Japanese broadcast. I thought he looked like he has covid or something like that, which makes a better showing in week 2 a definite possibility..
NHK no longer shows the torinaoshi before the first bout. Thanks, NHK!!
Asahakuryu and Fujiseiun doing very well in their places. I think their key to success is doing things tidily. Don‘t get just one strand of the mawashi when you can get the whole pack.
Nice to see Abi taking what it needs to stay in Makuuchi. These tapes on his back look horrible, though.
Enho quite safe for his return. Looking forward to a happy end on the next banzuke. What a story it has been up to this! And one can only hope, that things in the heya will sort out soon.
Add Yoshinofuji to the long list of walking wounded .. his calf/ankle is not A-OK ..
Good to see some spark in the old war horse Tamawashi ..
Takayasu has week 2 issues .. he gave it all in one match .. but it drained his tank .. looked to me that Oho’s toe turned over before both touched down in the first match ..
imho … Hoshoryu’s sumo is the best vintage in this basho .. i.e. both aggressive and opportunistic w counter moves ..
Kiri is is in great form .. just not as aggressive as Hosh ..
Relieved to see Kirishima clear his nemesis Takanosho. Things are looking pretty good.