Kaisei’s forceful stranglehold on Shodai’s neck proved decisive. Kaisei’s now 5-5 at the 2/3 mark. He’ll face Harumafuji tomorrow and has Kotoyuki left among sanyaku opponents. He should be able to win the rest and secure himself a kachi-koshi winning record.
Kaisei has never beaten Harumafuji. He has won several times against Kotoyuki but Kotoyuki has the edge recently in their makuuchi matchups.
Kotoshogiku’s knee seemed to buckle after a minute of waltzing with Kisenosato. Hakuho handed Terunofuji his makekoshi, hopefully ending the young ozeki’s tournament. My guess, he bounces back to a miraculous 8 wins in the next tournament on those struggling knees. Anyone willing to take me up on that bet? I’m almost willing to put actual money on it.
On a more positive note, Endo v Mitakeumi was a great bout between two young guns. The back-and-forth tussle between the two looked to go either way at several points. However, Endo’s right hand grip on Mitakeumi’s belt proved effective. With the victory, Endo’s on his way back. If both stay healthy, this promises to become a great rivalry.
Kaisei is positioned very nicely in his first sanyaku basho with wins. As mentioned before, all of his losses have come to ozeki and yokozuna. He was able to pick up one win off the injured Terunofuji. This week, his load will lighten considerably so 4 wins in the bag is great. He’ll fight the impressive Shodai tomorrow. It will be their second meeting; Kaisei won their first bout last month.
Hakuho knocked Ikioi out with an elbow to the jaw at the tachiai. Ikioi regained his senses quickly and was able to bow and leave under his own power. He will face another Hakuho KO victim tomorrow in Myogiryu. If this were American football, Ikioi would be out being examined by doctors and he’d likely be inactive tomorrow and for much of the rest of the week. One major difference is that in American football, a lineman would face dozens of charges in a single game. This being sumo, Ikioi will be back with reduced effectiveness – like Terunofuji, Gagamaru, and Amuru.