One contender down, two yokozuna to go. Kisenosato put up a valiant effort but Hakuho was as determined as I’ve ever seen. He was energetic, hopping around with the ozeki’s belt in tow. To me, it looked like a matta should have been called as Hakuho burst out of the gates quickly and Kisenosato, caught flat-footed, never quite recovered enough to go on the offensive.
May 2016
Endo Knew The Elbow Was Coming
The Endo/Osunaarashi bout was a bit anticlimactic. Everyone on the planet knew the Egyptian would throw the forearm at Endo’s head, most importantly Endo knew it. Surprisingly, there was nothing following it so when Endo parried the blow he pushed Osunaarashi out with apparent ease – to considerable approval from the crowd.
Hakuho will face Kisenosato tomorrow! Thanks to Kintamayama for the video!
Circle This Bout: Osunaarashi v Endo
Osunaarashi always steps it up notch against Endo. Whether it was the kenshokin, pride, or something else, the Egyptian will come out swinging…even more so with his kachi koshi on the table. For Endo, hopefully he’s motivated to pick up a special prize if he wins these next four. It would be a big task but if he wins tomorrow, I think it’s a distinct possibility.
Terunofuji Wants Early Retirement
It’s the only way I can explain his decision not to sit out the rest of the tournament. Plainly, he wasn’t able to drive through Yoshikaze and get a yorikiri. That seemed to be his game plan but Yoshikaze got him spun around and from there the pressure was on Terunofuji to just stay in bounds. Yoshikaze couldn’t pick the ozeki up over the straw bales but he didn’t need to as Teru-no-knees fell over.