Ichinojo will join Hakuho on the couch for the upcoming fall tournament. Minato oyakata cited lower back pain as the reason he needed to withdraw. After a high-flying first few tournaments, it became apparent over the last few basho that the nagging back injury was hindering his progress.
Regular readers of this blog are probably very familiar with my position that injured wrestlers should sit – demotion be damned. In Ichinojo’s case, however, his Maegashira 3 rank is certainly high enough for him to not need to worry about demotion from makuuchi and likely made the decision easier. As noted in this 中日スポーツ article, the more intense competition from the higher ranked wrestlers made it necessary for Ichinojo to rest this tournament.
As Bruce has also noted, Hakuho will not compete due to injury, as well.
(The lone dissenting vote is actually mine…I was just testing the vote app.) I hope he heals quickly. As mentioned before, he has a broken collar bone that will surely be sore and a target for anyone who wants some kenshokin. I think this is a huge mistake since he could come back fresh in May, pick up 10 wins, and preserve his ozeki status. Even if somehow he weren’t able to win 10 matches, I’m confident that a healthy Terunofuji would not only make an eventual return to ozeki status, I think he’d win another yusho or two. If he gets a few more, he’s destined for yokozuna promotion…if healthy. Competing in March does not assure he will get a winning record unless there’s some yaocho funny business. If everything’s on the up-and-up, he’s STILL in danger of promotion AND he’s at serious risk of further aggravating the injury. SIT HIM.
This is a rough sport. I wish everyone well in recovering from their injuries. The best tournament is when everyone’s healthy. When the greatest in the sport has to sit out, it’s just not the same. Well, before I start listening to Bette Midler or John Waite, I’ll just wish everyone to Get Well Soon!