A quick look at the match list for Day 8 will reveal that Maegashira 2 Yutakayama, who went kyujo on Day 5 due to an injured left elbow, will be making his return in the musubi no ichiban tomorrow. Unfortunately for the freshman, his first match back will not be an easy one, as he will have to face off against none other than The Boss, Yokozuna Hakuho. Seems like Yutakayama can’t catch a break.
On paper, most of the matches involving the top rankers look a little meh. Yutakayama returns from his injury absence only to get thrown into the deep end of the pool against Hakuho. We can only hope Yutakayama has recovered and is not being rushed back into the fray prematurely.
After his struggle against Chiyonokuni today, Kisenosato will look to come back strong against Tamawashi, who’s only beaten him once—but that was the last time they faced off. The Komusubi will be motivated to avoid a make-koshi-clinching eighth loss on the eighth day of the basho. He’s pulled off some last-week magic to save his rank before, but it will be tough to recover from a 0-7 start.
Kakuryu has owned Ichinojo even when the latter was fighting well, and a bout against the current version of the Sekiwake looks like a mismatch. Similarly, it should be all Takayasu in his bout with Shodai. And 6-1 Mitakeumi will look to continue his Ozeki run against 0-7 Ikioi, who is zero for six against the Sekiwake. The bout between Takakeisho and Kaisei could be an entertaining clash of styles, and both men have fought well, but their records stand at 2-5 and 3-4, respectively.
Now, the big exception: we get the first clash of the upper two ranks, with Ozeki Goeido taking on kadoban Ozeki Tochinoshin. Goeido, at 6-1, is only one win off the pace in the yusho race, and is fighting well, although there is a difference between week one Goeido and week two Goeido. Tochinoshin, at 5-2, is still not out of the race himself, and, more importantly, needs three more victories to defend his Ozeki rank. The two rikishi have met 25 times, with the record favoring Goeido 15-10, but it’s been very even recently. Oh, and in case the big Georgian needs extra motivation, remember what happened the last time they met?
Folks may be wondering if we will once again be live blogging in conjunction with NHK World’s Grand Sumo Live. Sadly for day 8, we will not be engaging in the live blog. We will have normal highlights tomorrow morning US time, and the rest of our regular coverage.
Reminder to readers – NHK World will be broadcasting the final 50 minutes of Makuuchi live on Sunday, starting at 3:00 AM Eastern US / 12:00 AM Pacific US.
Its becoming clear that we may be seeing the limit of what Kisenosato can endure for now. After more than 18 months without a full tournament schedule, he may be finding himself running low on stamina. In his bout today, he was completely disrupted by Chiyonokuni, who dominated the match. In fact it was clear that both the Yokozuna and the crowd in the Kokugikan thought that Chiyonokuni had likely won the match. This marks the third time this basho that Chiyonokuni has blown a win by stepping out early, and it’s something he needs to correct.
Overnight Saturday US time, NHK World will once again be broadcasting live the final hour of Makuuchi. Team Tachiai is trying to decide if there will be a live blog or not. If we are going to live-blog the event, we will post a notice before evening.
Takanosho defeats Yoshikaze – Yoshikaze again gets too far forward, and is easily sent out. It was great to see Yoshikaze start 5-0, and it’s a good bet he will pick up the remaining 3 for a kachi-koshi. This win lifts Takanosho above .500, and he has to be pleased with his debut tournament thus far.
Takanoiwa defeats Ishiura – Takanoiwa anticipates Ishiura’s henka (everyone does it seems) and Ishiura has no way to escape the counter-attack. Its looking increasingly likely Ishiura will be back in Juryo.
Ryuden defeats Chiyoshoma – Two rikishi who have reputations for using matta and henka in their matches actually throw down and decide to battle. They both gave it a lot of effort, and it looked like real sumo.
Chiyomaru defeats Aoiyama – Once again, Aoiyama goes tumbling from the kind of shove that he normally laughs off. Clearly he is injured, and is struggling to stay on his feet and in balance. The win is good news for Chiyomaru, who needs to stay as close to the kachi-koshi line as he can.
Hokutofuji defeats Sadanoumi – The match moved from oshi to yotzu in a blink of an eye, and Hokutofuji was clearly dominating every key element. With a 7-0 start, he is looking increasingly likely to be a real contender for 2019. After recovering from his concussion, his hand injuries and god knows what else, his sumo is fast, tight and aggressive.
Kotoshogiku defeats Daieisho – Strong win by Kotoshogiku, he never did get chest to chest with Daiesho, but he was able to grab a firm hold of him and march forward with strength. It’s a shame this man’s body is fading, he can execute some solid sumo.
Tochiozan defeats Asanoyama – Best element of the match – the crowd gasps at the loud “crack” at the tachiai. Tochiozan, as is his custom, takes his time and dismantles Asanoyama with efficiency and power. Like Kotoshogiku, the level of skill he possesses far outstrips his aging body’s ability to execute. But on days when he can line them up, he can win.
Shohozan defeats Myogiryu – Setting sumo aside, these two decided to recreate the battle of Tsushima, with Myogiryu relegated to the role of the Russian fleet. Both men were bashing each other to bits, but in such a match, the advantage is always to “Big Guns” Shohozan.
Abi defeats Onosho – Onosho brought strength, Abi brought agility, and agility carried the day. I am a Onosho supporter, but he’s still trying to piece together his post-injury sumo, its clear.
Kaisei defeats Ikioi – Ikioi’s strength was not enough to overcome Kaisei’s significant mass and determination to drive forward. Clearly Ikioi is going to have a big reset down the banzuke for Kyushu.
Mitakeumi defeats Takakeisho – Takakeisho spent the first part of the match using Mitakumi’s face as a punching bag, and the blows rang loudly through the Kokugikan, eliciting gasps from the crowd. Mitakeumi absorbed them all and remained focused. In spite of having his heels of the tawara, Mitakeumi expected Takakeisho to overcommit and lunge to finish him off. He was not wrong. With the timing that underscores Mitakeumi’s sumo skill and ring sense, he moved aside just enough to give Takakeisho an express trip to the clay. Two take-aways from this match: Mitakeumi has rather impressive focus, Takakeisho is maybe a year away from walking the same path Mitakeumi is on now.
Tochinoshin defeats Ichinojo – Sadly, Ichinojo once again gave up, in spite of having the upper hand at the start of the match. It was good news for Tochinoshin, as he is still working to clear kadoban.
Takayasu defeats Tamawashi – These two have a long rivalry, and it showed in today’s match. Many opponents are disrupted by Takayasu’s tachiai, Tamawashi seemed completely unmoved and immediately launched to attack. But in he overcommitted, and Takayasu slapped him forward and down. Tamawashi is also likely to see a big drop down the banzuke for Kyushu.
Goeido defeats Chiyotairyu – Chiyotairyu could not repeat his magic for day 7, though he clearly got the best of the tachiai. But Goeido seems to be working on some kind of new GoeiDOS 2.2, and I have to say it seems to be a stable build.
Kisenosato defeats Chiyonokuni – Kisenosato won, but once again we have a marathon struggle against a Maegashira that might have gone either way. I would say that Kisenosato is suffering from not having to do 15 days of tournament sumo for the past 18 months, and his stamina may be spent at this point. If he can rack 2 more wins, he can at least claim his kachi-koshi. There is also the specter that he may have had an ankle injury when Chiyotairyu fell on him after Goeido ejected his opponent to win the match.
Hakuho defeats Endo – Endo is a mess right now, and the winning move is listed as koshikudake, meaning Endo fell down on his own. Hakuho was in full battle mode, and his momentum carried him into the first row of zabuton. Looking at the replays, it looks like Endo’s knee gave out. Hopefully it’s not another case for surgery.
Kakuryu defeats Shodai – Straightforward Kakuryu sumo, he continues to look strong and fight in forward gears. I suspect he will be the man to beat for the yusho.