Kyushu Basho 2016

Kyushu Day 13 Results

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kyushu Basho 2016, Takarafuji (宝富士), Yoshikaze (嘉風) , , , , , ,

harumafuji-goeido

Kakuryu Yusho Looking More Likely

As noted in prior news postings, the action on day 13 from Kyushu was big, the matches were outstanding, and the yusho race became a lot clearer. But for sumo fans wishing for a giant multi-way final day tournament to decide the ultimate winner, the Great Sumo Cat of the Kokugikan had other plans.

Likewise in Juryo, we had Osunaarashi go Kyujo with a right knee injury, handing the Juryo-yusho to Seiro for all reasonable purposes. Keep in mind, dear reader, that the Kyushu basho this year is a wily and unpredictable operation, and we may yet see at least one more twist in the tale before it concludes on Sunday.

With Kisenosato, Goeido, Hakuho and Ishiura all losing on day 13, the leaderboard has narrowed considerably

Leaderboard

  • Leader: Kakuryu
  • Chasers: Harumafuji
  • Hunt Group: Kisenosato, Shodai, Ishiura

2 matches remain

Notable Matches

Arawashi defeats Ishiura – Bit of a slippi-toshi on this one. There have been reports of the Kyushu dohyo being especially slippery this basho. We have seen a large number of slips, and mechanical injuries due to uncontrolled descent of 150+ Kg men.

Hidenoumi defeats Chiyoshoma – Chiyoshoma was going for his kachi-koshi today, but Hidenoumi put on a great show of yotsu sumo and eventually forced Chiyoshoma out.

Takarafuji defeats Sokokurai – Takarafuji picks up his kachi-koshi in a fairly strange match. Sokokurai was expecting a henka, I am going to assume, and so was Takarafuji. So they grappled lightly, stood around for a bit, and came up with a new strategy. Takarafuji wins by yorikiri

Ichinojo defeats Shohozan – Quick bout that saw local favorite Shohozan quickly pushed out of the ring by Ichinojo. Ichinojo has been very inconsistent in Kyushu, but still has a chance at kachi-koshi

Shodai defeats Chiyootori – The Shodai train is not slowing down. He made very quick work of Chiyootori

Yoshikaze defeats Mitakeumi – Amazing move at the edge by Yoshikaze. It seems that once he secured his losing record, he remembered all of his really nice moves. Glad to see him educating the shin-Komusubi. The crowd, of course, ate it up – seems everyone loves Yoshikaze when his sumo is strong. Request for the Berserker – next time see if you can get more spiral on Mitakeumi (who is roughly football shaped), I would love to see if you can get him into the second tier of box seats.

Endo defeats Okinoumi – Great great match between these two, with this win, Endo has a solid chance of securing a winning record for Kyushu. Okinoumo – I want him to get healed / have surgeryury and come back strong for Hatsu in January. Great throw by Endo at the end of the match.

Tamawashi defeats Terunofuji – Excellent, but quick match by Tamawashi, who picks up his kachi-koshi from the injured Ozeki. This is the third time he has beaten an Ozeki this tournament.

Harumafuji defeats Goeido – Goeido once again facing a monoii? Yes, this guy has a curse on him. The Goyji awarded the match to Goeido, but the Shimpan decided to re-play the match. In the second bout, Harumafuji was clearly the winner via his patented mini-henka. This leaves Harumafuji the only clear challenger to to Kakuryu for the yusho.

Video of Wakaichiro – American Sumo Disciple

Bruce H Kyushu Basho 2016 ,

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, we now have video of Ichiro Young, now known by his shikona – Wakaichiro, in his first three bouts prior to acceptance as a rikishi. For all American sumo fans, it’s going to be fun to watch this young man from Texas work his way into the world of Sumo.

Wakaichiro played football in High School, and that is quite evident from his matches. He is comfortable charging his opponents strongly, and I predict for the first few tournaments, he will do pretty well, and likely have a lot of fun.

Wakaichiro is part of the Musashigawa stable

More Wakaichirio coverage here

 

Juryo Star Osunaarashi Withdraws From Kyushu

Bruce H Juryo (十両), Kyujo (休場), Kyushu Basho 2016 , ,

osunaarashi-kyujo

In an unexpected move, star Egyptian sumotori Osunaarashi withdrew from the Kyushu tournament at the start of day 13, handing his opponent, Seiro, a fusen win, and likely the Juryo championship. At this moment, the team at Tachiai don’t have any news on why Osunaarashi withdrew, but we will bring you all the news we discover.

Osunaarashi had been a favorite to compete for the Juryo champion, and a hopeful to return to the Makuuchi top division in the January basho. Given his winning record (9-4), he will receive a nice promotion, but will likely remain in Juryo for at least one more tournament.

We wish Osunaarashi the best of luck, and hope to see him in action again soon.

Update 25 Nov, 17:00 GMT

Thanks to co-blogger Andy, there is some detail now on what caused Osunaarashi to withdraw.  Seems there has been an injury sustained to his right knee, and he has been ordered to rest for at least 28 days in hopes of repairing it.  As we have seen with Kotoshogiku and Terunofuji, damage to a rikishi’s undercarriage is serious business.  Knee injuries are difficult to treat, and difficult to heal.  So much of sumo depends on transferring power to earth via a rikishi’s legs, health of the knee join is essential.  We are all hoping Osunaarashi can recover strongly, and join the Hatsu basho in January.

Kakuryu defeats Hakuho

Bruce H Hakuho (白鵬), Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kyushu Basho 2016

kakuryu-hakuho

Yokozuna Kakuryu Closes On Yusho.

Sumo fans where hoping, praying perhaps, for a multi-way playoff this weekend to decide the final tournament of 2016. Chief among these was we needed Hakuho to defeat Kakuryu. Kakuryu had other plans.

The match was all Kakuryu, and it’s quite clear that Hakuho needs more recovery and recuperation time after his surgeries in September. The instincts and skill are still there, but his body is not quite up to the task yet. Another great video from Jason’s All Sumo Channel shows all.

With this win, it’s almost certain that Yokozuna Kakuryu will secure the tournament championship. It’s a welcome change from the prior performance of Kakuryu, who had been frequently discussed as a candidate for early retirement, due to his lackluster performance.