Thanks to the wonder that is YouTube, we have a video of Wakaichiro’s day 2 match. As you can see, he was a bit ragged and all over the dohyo. His first match was against Rao, who won the Jonidan yusho in Nagoya, so this was always going to be a challenging start.
We expect Wakaichiro back in action on day 4 for his second bout.
Late morning Tokyo, two Tachiai favorites were in action on the Aki dohyo. First up was Ura, who attracted quite a bit of fan and press attention. His match against Sumanoumi was quick and one-sided. In reflection this is how it should be, Ura has earned kinboshi, and was facing a rikishi who was himself working his way back up the ranks.
Wakaichiro took to the dohyo less than 15 minutes later, and faced a Makushita rikishi back from surgery and working his way back up the banzuke. The match was sloppy, and I am sure Wakaichiro is quite frustrated with this as a start. But he has 6 matches left, and plenty or room to work on kachi-koshi. Link to video of Ura below, we will post Wakaichiro video as soon as it pops up
Many fans, myself included, have been eagerly awaiting the return of Ura. After suffering a painful and crippling knee injury, he took the bold step to have surgical reconstruction, and a long recovery. His extended absence from competition sees him ranked near the bottom of Sandanme, a long way from his former mid-Makuuchi post. This is actually very good for Ura, as it gives him a chance to get back to competition sumo against a different class of opponents.
As with day 1, Sandanme is mostly having east and west rikishi of the same rank face off. His opponent is Sandanme 91 Sumanoumi, from Takadagawa heya. Sumanoumi has been a Sandanme main-stay since 2013. I expect Ura to start off a bit conservative, and perhaps a bit rusty. His practice matches featured his recognizable low and crazy sumo, and I will be curious to see if he brings that out today.
We will be watching his return match, and will share results as soon as they are known.
Tachiai favorite Wakaichio makes his Aki 2018 debut on day 2. He is fighting at his highest ever rank, Sandanme 77, after his mighty effort to bounce back from a 1-3 start in Nagoya. Over the past year, Wakaichio’s sumo has made steady and noticeable improvements. Rumors from the fan base say that we may see a somewhat bulkier Wakaichiro mount the dohyo around noon on Monday in Tokyo.
His opponent for day 2 is Rao from Tatsunami beta. Rao started sumo in 2011, and recently was kyujo for two consecutive tournaments, f falling from Makushita 43 all the way down to Jonidan. Now fighting his way back up the banzuke, Rao took the Jonidan Yusho in Nagoya with a 7-0 record. Clearly this will be a tough match for Wakaichio, but fans will be curious to see how he fares.
We will bring you results and video as early as we can.