Aminishiki (5-3) has been impressive but after a strong tachiai and quick grapple, Hakuho (8-0) side-stepped the charging maegashira and sent him sprawling off the dohyo. Nothing fancy about Harumafuji’s attack against Kaisei today. He went straight for the throat and the Brazilian could do nothing but retreat. Harumafuji stays one loss off pace at 7-1 while Kaisei drops to 4-4. Kakuryu fought off the hard-charging Aoiyama for his sixth win (6-2).
Continue reading
Harumafuji’s slip-up gives up a surprising gold star to a visibly injured Jokoryu. There’s a lot of speculation about why the yokozuna fell so easily but my take on it is he was trying for a rare kimarite and underestimated Jokoryu’s ability to stand his ground. I’ve never seen anyone reach all the way round the opponent to grab the thong part of the mawashi. Until I know the real name, I’m going to call it an attempted nuclear-wedgie. I will not fault Harumafuji for trying because I enjoy his creative style of sumo. He seems to always find new ways to win that I haven’t seen, like the komatasukui from yesterday. The timing today is questionable, when tied for the lead with Hakuho to close out week one.
Continue reading
Harumafuji and Hakuho are the last two with perfect records.
Harumafuji had his longest bout of the tournament so far and one of the more interesting bouts in the way he won. He waited patiently with a solid belt grip. Toyonoshima tried to use his legs but that opened him to danger as the yokozuna got the better of him by reaching down with the left arm and grabbing for Toyonoshima’s left leg. Off balance, the maegashira was forced backwards and off the dohyo, into the crowd. I don’t think I’d ever seen an example of komatasukui kimarite before.
Continue reading
