Sadanoumi

Hatsu Day 14 Summary – The New Talent Continues to Excel

Bruce H Hakuho (白鵬), Hatsubasho 2017, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Juryo (十両), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Mitakeumi(御嶽海), Osunaarashi (大砂嵐), Takayasu (高安) , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Sumo’s Bright Future On Display

The second to last day of the January tournament turned in several thrilling matches, as low ranked Maegashira paired off against senior Sekitori to test their potential at future higher ranks. In general the new talent gave a very good showing, and in some cases surprised their senior opponents.

First there were visitors from Juryo today in the upper division, starting with Ura. Clearly Ura liked his first taste of Kensho, and was looking for more. Sadanoumi had a straight ahead approach, but a match with Ura requires improvisation. Juryo Daieisho also showed a great deal of poise and balance in his win over Takakeisho, having him his make-koshi (ouch!). The battle looked all Takakeisho until Daieisho executed a stunning thrust / throw at the tawara.

Ishiura’s dirty henka over Osunaarashi was demeaning, and Osunaarashi’s icy glare post match told the whole story. It was not like Osunaarashi had the strength in his lower body to offer much of a challenge. This was purely an insult. Chiyoo looked very good handing Kotoyuki his make-koshi, and survived a lot of really well place thrusts from Kotoyuki. Chiyoo eventually got a belt hold and gave Kotoyuki a nice hug-n-chug to exit him from the ring.

Takekaze displayed yet another fantastic, crowd pleasing Judo style throw in his win over Chiyootori, who sadly is now make-koshi and may be headed back to Juryo. Kaisei seems to have finally remembered his sumo, and will possibly save himself from further demotion. It does beg the question of why it seems to take him so many bouts in a tournament to get warmed up. His limited box of moves is “I am enormous and weight more than a side of beef”, so it limits him.

Mitakeumi gets to double digit wins in his blistering match against Hokutofuji, who is certainly fighting strong this basho. Keep an eye on Hokutofuji, as he has yet to turn in a losing record in his sumo career. Much as I worried, Takayasu was surprised by Sokokurai, who executed a fantastic move at the tawara that seems to have embarrassed Takayasu. This should be a lesson to the joi – don’t underestimate Sokokurai.

I felt a bit sorry for Ichinojo taking on Kisenosato. Here is a Maegashira 13 facing the dai-Ozeki, and clearly he is as nervous as can be. After a false start, you can clearly see his composure crumple and drift away. On the second attempt, Kisenosato easily escorts him out. If Ichinojo can stay healthy, and stay at this weight or lower, he has potential. But I fear he may end up like Terunofuji, where his body fails him after a few years. Ikioi picked up his kachi-koshi against poor Kotoshogiku who now carries a double-digit loss, and has nothing left.

Lastly, once again, Takanoiwa defeated Yokozuna Hakuho convincingly. The Yokozuna was driven back, raised up and Takanoiwa applied a series of hip-pumps to push Hakuho out. It was a shocking upset, and re-awakens concerns over Hakuho’s post-surgery strength and endurance.

Hatsu Day 14 Preview

Bruce H Hakuho (白鵬), Hatsubasho 2017, Ichinojo (逸ノ城), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Takayasu (高安), Yoshikaze (嘉風) , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Final Weekend Begins

Hatsu has been an interesting tournament for fans, but it has been brutal for Sumo’s talent. In the top division alone there have been 4 rikishi that have withdrawn with injuries, and many more (such as Kotoshogiku and Osunaarashi) who continue on although they should probably be nursing their wounds.

It would be easy to think of day 14 is filler while we all wait for the final, all important battle between Yokozuna Hakuho and Ozeki Kisenosato, but in fact there are a number of sumotori who are still fighting to secure their winning record (kachi-koshi). This includes

Sadanoumi who will fight Ura in the first bout of Makuuchi, Aoiyama who fights Kagayaki in a battle of slaps, Chiyoshoma who fights Daishomaru , and Ikioi who faces hapless doomed Ozeki Kotoshogiku.

There also seems to be a number of “test matches” that feature men from much lower down the banzuke trying their sumo against upper ranked rikishi. These will likely give us some good idea of how they might perform after their expected promotions. This includes

Takayasu vs Sokokurai – Komusubi (working to start an Ozeki run) vs Maegashira 10, but they have even records, and Sokokurai is a real contender. I am certain that Takayasu will take this match seriously, and it could be a real brawl.

Kisenosato vs Ichinojo – The dai-Ozeki vs Maegashira 13, but Ichinojo will be no walk in the park. He has lost a lot of weight, and is in good fighitng form now. Its expected that Kisenosato will dispatch him, but Ichinojo’s size, weight and strength means it’s going to take some work.

Mitakeumi vs Hokutofuji – Hokutofuji shows hints of being a very strong, dominant member for the new class of rikishi. He goes against Mitakeumi who has really impressed this tournament. On day 13, Mitakeumi looked a little bit spent, but we think he will gamberize for this match.

Yoshikaze vs Chiyotairyu – The mobile attack platform know as Yoshikaze will test Chiyotairyu, who is only Maegashira 14. The Berserker is a personal favorite, but he seems to be slowing down a bit these days. He still has skill and speed on his side.

Hakuho vs Takanoiwa – So the greatest Yokozuna of our age is going against a Maegashira 10. Takanoiwa comes in at 10-3, but it’s all against the bottom half of Makuuchi. I expect Hakuho to fold him like a paper airplane and send him up, up and away.

Hatsu Basho Day 10 Summary

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Hatsubasho 2017, Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Kotoshogiku (琴奨菊), Osunaarashi (大砂嵐) , , , , , , , ,

chiyoo

Osunaarashi faced off against the Sadanoumi in the first Makuuchi bout of day 10. This was a long and difficult match, and clearly Osunaarashi is fighting with a lot of pain from his chronic injuries. Sadanoumi is looking good now, and I really hope he can keep this level of sumo and begin again to improve. Osunaarashi now one loss from make-koshi and certain return to Juryo.

Chiyoo showed some very nice work against the massive Aoiyama, who continues to struggle with anything other than a straight pushing attack. Arawashi’s bout against Shohozan was a thing of beauty, with Arawashi employing a great arm bar throw (tottari). Arawashi seems to have found his strength and his sumo, and is now fighting with vigor and purpose.

In a battle of the up and comings, Mitakeumi beat Shodai, though both rikishi put forth some solid effort. The battle was fast paced and highly mobile. Whatever Mitakeumi did to prepare for Hatsu, it was the right formula – more of that.

The Kisenosato bout showed that in spite of his injuries, Terunofuji is not giving one inch to anyone. He went into the match with a loose mawashi, and it was effective, making Kisenosato work to gain control of the big Mongolian Terunofuji. But Kisenosato got inside, got low – he was not going to make the same mistake he made against Kotoshogiku. Kisenosato lowered his hips and applied force, and won. He remains the sole leader

Goeido showed great skill and ring sense in defeating the struggling Kotoshogiku. He pressed Kotoshogiku back to the bales, and as Kotoshogiku began to ramp up a thrusting counter attack, Goeido used that force to propel Kotoshogiku into the throw as he stepped aside. Nice sumo from the Aki champion. Kimarite was katasukashi – under-shoulder swing down

Now I wonder if Hakuho has re-injured his legs or feet. In the past three days his sumo has been defensive rather than mostly offense, which is his style. He handled Ikioi with a bit of difficulty, which says that Ikioi is doing better, and Hakuho doing a bit worse. Sumo shines when Hakuho is healthy and winning. So I hope he is physically ok.

Hatsu Leader Board

Leader – Kisenosato
Hunt Group – Hakuho, Takanoiwa, Sokokurai, Ichinojo
Chasers – Goeido, Takayasu, Mitakeumi, Ikioi, Takekaze, Hokutofuji

5 Matches Remain

Day 10 Preview

Bruce H Gōeidō (豪栄道), Hakuho (白鵬), Hatsubasho 2017, Kakuryu (鶴竜), Kisenosato (稀勢の里), Osunaarashi (大砂嵐), San'yaku (三役), Sekiwake (関脇), Takayasu (高安) , , , , , ,

ikioi-kakuryu-9

Where we hope it won’t get any weirder.

Bizzaro-world day 9 is in the history books, with a tremendous impact for the yusho race at Hatsu. With day 10, we close out the middle act of the basho, and prepare to launch headlong into the final 5 days, where dreams get crushed and champions are made.

Clearly Hakuho is off his game now. I don’t think it’s injury or physical, I think it started with Arawashi. Clearly whatever happened at the tachiai took a direction that the Yokozuna did not expect, and moved to counter. But before he could do anything, Arawashi had him out. As stated prior, Hakuho is about 80% offense 20% defense, and he almost always starts with a strong battle plan. That is why when Takayasu stood him up with a big tachiai on day 10, he was in trouble. Honestly I don’t recall seeing Takayasu move with that kind of speed ever before. Takayasu gave quick shoulder blast at the tachiai, and then he had a hand inside pushing against Hakuho’s chest. This time The Boss was quick to implement his defensive plan, but his much vaunted ring sense failed him as he stepped out. I would look for him to get back in his sumo today, as he has Ikioi.

On the subject of Kotoshogiku, if he wins over Goeido I am going to suspect some coordinated effort to rescue the injured Ozeki. Frankly one of the great appeals of sumo is the appearance of meritocracy. I am sure Kotoshogiku is a lovely human being, but the time has come for someone to show his kadoban ass the door. He is perpetually injured, which is a crying shame as he has had brought some great sumo to the sport.

One the subject of Ozeki who should be moving forward, Kisenosato has a lot to make up for after his disappointing loss to Kotoshogiku. Kise – you had one job to do, and you had most of this handed to you on a plate by Harumafuji and Hakuho. Some corners of the sumo world jokingly call him “Choke-o-zuna”, which I thought was cruel. But today I think it might be accurate. Day 10 he faces Terunofuji, who is also a great sumotori who has chronic injuries and has little left until he is healed.

Kakuryu is back to stinking after a really excellent Kyushu. As of today he is in serious risk of going make-koshi, which would rain down doom from the Japan Sumo Association on the most recent Yokozuna. On day 10 he faces Tamawashi, who is seriously looking like he might survive as Sekiwake.

Notable Matches

Sadanoumi vs Ichinojo – Ichinojo can go kachi-koshi with a win here. He is tied for second place! SECOND PLACE! Ichinojo leads the series 4-2.

Takanoiwa vs Chiyotairyu – Co-Leader Takanoiwa takes on a struggling Chiyotairyu. Maybe day 11 the can put him against Hakuho? Chiyotairyu leads the series 3-1, so maybe Takanoiwa will be knocked back from his co-leader status.

Osunaarashi vs Sokokurai – Also tied for second place, Sokokurai draws an easy match against the Egyptian, who is really too hurt to be on the dohyo. Osunaarashi has won all 4 of their prior bouts.

Takekaze vs Hokutofuji – Henka master Takekaze takes on Hokutofuji, who is also tied for second place. I love me some Hokutofuji, but this is crazy. This will be the first time these two have faced off

Mitakeumi vs Shodai – A magical battle of the up-and-coming. With Shodai largely 1 step behind Mitakeumi on the learning curve, we shall see if Shodai is firming up and getting over his san’yaku jitters. Shodai has won 4 of their prior 5 matches.