Newly promoted ozeki Onosato was all business on Monday, November 11 when he steamrolled over top maegashira Oho to improve to a perfect 2-0 on Day 2 of the Kyushu Basho.
Onosato won on the opening day as well but wasn't nearly as dominant as he was on the second day of competition when he simply overwhelmed Oho from the face-off in a one-sided battle.
The Ishikawa Prefecture native triumphed with a thrust-down technique when Oho attempted an ill-advised shoulder pulldown at the edge and fell to 0-2.
After winning the September tournament, Onosato was promoted to sumo's second-highest rank and is the odds-on favorite at the 15-day Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament.
Kyushu Basho Showdown: Hoshoryu Manhandles Wakamotoharu
In the day's final bout at Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Mongolian Hoshoryu used a powerful shoving technique to send Wakamotoharu toppling off the raised ring and into the first row of seats.
Hoshoryu improved to 2-0 while komusubi Wakamotoharu fell to 1-1.
Ozeki Kotozakura came out guns ablazing when he deployed a dominant frontal force-out to dispatch Hiradoumi in a matter of seconds.
Kotozakura picked up his second consecutive win. Top maegashira Hiradoumi is still winless.
No 2 maegashira Ura was slapped around by Kirishima but took advantage of his low center of gravity to stay in the bout before thrusting down the sekiwake grappler. Ura improved to 1-1 while Kirishima is 0-2.
Wakatakakage Improves to 2-0 at Kyushu Basho
In other major bouts, No 2 maegashira Wakatakakage stayed low and got an inside position on Daieisho before bulldozing the sekiwake out to move to 2-0. Daieisho stands at 1-1.
No 3 maegashira Abi unleashed a relentless pushing attack from the opening face-off to send Kyushu native Shodai backpedaling over the straw ridge in a matter of seconds.
Abi picked up first win while former ozeki Shodai dropped to 0-2.
In a battle of grizzled veterans, ninth-ranked Takayasu relied on a double-barreled shoving technique to send No 10 maegashira Takarafuji backpedaling out.
Takayasu, a former ozeki, is fighting in his 80th tournament in the top ranks. He improved to 1-1 while Takarafuji dropped to 0-2.
Tobizaru Outmuscles Churanoumi
In one of the day's more spirited bouts, Tobizaru and Churanoumi exchanged a series of ferocious slaps and thrusts to the upper body before Tobizaru capitalized on superb footwork at the edge before swatting his opponent out.
Fifth-ranked maegashira Tobizaru improved to 2-0 while fourth-ranked Churanoumi fell to 0-2.
Spring Basho winner Takerufuji, who is making a return to the top division after an ankle injury saw him get demoted to juryo, was handed his first loss when he was shoved out by Tokihayate.
No 16 maegashira Takerufuji was pushed back to the edge where he attempted an arm throw but that's when No 15 Tokihayate shoved his opponent out to give both grapplers a 1-1 record.
Ukrainian Shishi, who is making his debut in the elite division, showed that he can move fast for a big man when he dodged to his side before getting a left-handed grip in the belt of Bushozan (0-2) and forcing his fellow rank-and-filer out to improve to 2-0.
RELATED:
- Kyushu Basho: Onosato Dispatches Hiradoumi to Open Ozeki Career with a Win
- Onosato Looking to Shine in Ozeki Debut at Kyushu Basho
- EDITORIAL | Onosato, Now Ozeki, Builds Hope for a Future Yokozuna
Author: Jim Armstrong
The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.
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