J7 – Abi poursuit sur sa lancée

Both yokozuna remained a win off the pace Saturday with routine victories on Day 7 of the 15-day Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.

Grand champion Hakuho (6-1) bounced back from his shock loss to second-ranked maegashira Abi the previous day at Ryogoku Kokugikan, quickly forcing out No. 4 maegashira Chiyotairyu (4-3) by the belt.

Fellow Mongolian yokozuna Kakuryu (6-1) had to work a little harder for his win, wheeling away from No. 3 Yutakayama (0-7) before thrusting him down.

Georgian-born sekiwake Tochinoshin remained the only wrestler with a perfect record, moving to 7-0 with a default win over komusubi Endo (3-4), who withdrew from the tournament earlier in the day with an injured right arm.

Endo, who was promoted to the lowest of the three « sanyaku » ranks beneath yokozuna following the Spring Grand Tournament, suffered the injury in his loss to fellow komusubi Mitakeumi on Day 6.

A day after his stunning win over Hakuho, Abi (3-4) claimed another high-profile victim, making short work of ozeki Goeido (3-4).

Anticipating his opponent’s charge, Abi quickly adjusted his position before redirecting Goeido’s momentum to send him to the clay.

No. 2 Shohozan pulled off an impressive win against giant sekiwake Ichinojo (4-3) despite an 84-kilogram weight disadvantage. As the pair locked up in the center of the ring, Shohozan got a grip on his much taller opponent’s belt before upending him with a turning throw.

Mitakeumi (4-3) provided little resistance to No. 1 maegashira Kaisei (2-5), trying in vain to push back the 204-km Brazilian before being hoisted over the straw by his belt.

Written by Kyodo