Osunaarashi

March Tournament 2015: Day 10

Andy March Tournament 2015 , , , , , ,

Aminishiki seems to have gone down with a knee injury. It was heartbreaking to see him be unable to walk under his own power. He’d been having an excellent basho and is clearly in line for the technique special prize. He is assured of a winning record, but healthy he could have gotten 10-11 wins. Hopefully it’s not as serious as it looked but I’ll be surprised if he’s not done. With his knees at his age, this might be retirement if he can’t continue.

Speaking of retirement, it was also good to see Homasho being interviewed but a bit odd to see him in a Western suit.

Hakuho leads, followed by Terunofuji. Terunofuji seemed to wait until Kotoshogiku ran out of steam with his leg thrusts and was able to counter, getting the oshidashi victory. Tomorrow he’s up against Kaisei who lost to Harumafuji but certainly gave him a run for his money in a long, tightly contested matchup. Kisenosato’s victory over Goeido meant he was the only Ozeki to win today.

Osunaarashi got an impressive belt win today. He’s certainly not as one dimensional as he seemed last tournament. His knees are not giving him the same problems and he’s getting great power in his legs to match up with his opponents. Gagamaru dropped his first bout in a week but Ikioi bounced back with a win over Arawashi.

Osunaarashi has “Apple Disease”

Andy Injuries, Sumo Topics , , , ,

One week ahead of the Osaka tournament and Yahoo! Japan is reporting that Osunaarashi has come down with “Fifth Disease”. In Japan, it’s known as “Apple Disease” because the of the red cheeks one gets from the facial rash. I’m not a doctor but Wikipedia says that in adult patients, swelling joints can lead to an arthritis or arthritis-like condition. His doctor also stated a concern that in adults these can take longer to get well.

Apparently, he would have also been contagious before the symptoms presented so it could be possible that other wrestlers may have contracted it. The incubation period extends over the time of the basho so some may fall ill during the tournament. It would probably be more likely within his training partners, like the others in Otake stable. Let’s hope for a speedy recovery and hope that no one else catches it.

Hatsubasho 2015: Day 12

Andy Hakuho (白鵬), Harumafuji (日馬富士), Hatsubasho 2015, Ichinojo (逸ノ城) , , , , , , , , , ,
Is Hakuho's 2 bout lead impenetrable?
Is Hakuho’s 2 bout lead impenetrable?

Kisenosato is basically our only hope to drop Hakuho and make this basho interesting. Today, he survived a bit of a scare against Toyonoshima in an entertaining bout. Tomorrow they will battle for the 50th time. The superzuna has a 38-11 advantage in this lengthy rivalry that goes back to Makushita when Kisenosato was known by his real family name, Hagiwara. The historical data at Sumo Games is fantastic and really interesting. Forgive the plug but I love data and this is fascinating. In this case it’s also really interesting to see how quickly in their careers Hakuho advanced into the makuuchi and became a Yokozuna.
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