J14 – Kotoshogiku, un deuxième ôzeki make-koshi

Yokozuna Kakuryu won his 12th match at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament on Nov. 22 to set up a final-day showdown with Hakuho, who is looking to take home a record-tying 32nd career title.

Calm under pressure, Kakuryu threw ozeki Kotoshogiku (6-8) to the dirt to keep alive his hopes of coming from behind to claim the title. Kakuryu has two losses, but if he can defeat Hakuho on Nov. 23, the two Mongolian yokozuna will have to fight a tie-breaker to decide who captures the top honors.

In the penultimate bout of the day at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Hakuho stopped Harumafuji cold at the face-off and sent him out from behind as his compatriot tried to recover from an overextended arm attack. Harumafuji (10-4) never had a chance against Hakuho, who had a look of steely determination as the two squared off. Sekiwake Ichinojo, who has been dubbed « Monster » for his intimidating size and scowl, jumped the gun once but then flipped ozeki Kisenosato out of the ring. With his eighth victory, the new Mongolian star is now assured of a winning record. He stunned fans with his 13-2 record in his top division debut in September.

Kisenosato, at 10-4, appears to have hit a wall.

Fledgling ozeki Goeido suffered another loss after trying desperately to grapple maegashira No. 4 Kaisei to the edge. Although Goeido fought hard, the big Brazilian turned the tables on him and forced him down with an overhanded throw.

Goeido has now lost nine matches, so he will need to prove himself worthy of staying at ozeki by scoring a winning record in January. Kaisei is 6-8.

Sekiwake Aoiyama of Bulgaria was bulled out by maegashira No. 3 Terunofuji in their first match against each other. The new sekiwake needs to defeat maegashira No. 6 Toyonoshima on Nov. 23 to go home with a winning record. Terunofuji is also 7-7.

Komusubi Ikioi and maegashira No. 2 Toyohibiki (4-10) had a bout that was too close to call in their first go, but Ikioi clearly and quickly won the rematch, bringing his record to 6-8.

Faring far worse, komusubi Takekaze fell to his 13th defeat, and his 12th loss in a row, to maegashira No. 5 Osunaarashi, who is still fighting with an injured and heavily taped left leg. The Egyptian, who had to sit out five days because of the injury, is 3-6-5

Written by The Asahi Shimbun