Sumo

Abi Hands Hoshoryu His 1st Loss at the Kyushu Basho

No 3 maegashira Abi took advantage of a superior face-off to stun the previously undefeated Mongolian. Four men are now tied for the Kyushu Basho lead.

by
Jim Armstrong
November 16, 2024

Rank-and-filer Abi defeated Mongolian Hoshoryu on Saturday, November 16 to hand the ozeki grappler his first loss of the Kyushu Basho.

In the day's penultimate bout at Fukuoka Kokusai Center, No 3 maegashira Abi immediately stood Hoshoryu up at the face-off with a thrust to neck. He then hauled his opponent down to improve to 5-2.

"I was able to pull the ozeki down effectively," Abi said. "I think he thought I was going to shift to the side after the face-off but I just went straight at him and then hauled him down."

Hoshoryu, ozeki Kotozakura and rank-and-filers Onokatsu and Takanosho are all tied for the lead at 6-1.

In the day's final bout, ozeki Kotozakura used a perfectly timed overarm throw of Atamifuji to stay tied for the lead. No 3 maegashira Atamifuji fell to 4-3.

New ozeki Onosato bounced back from a loss on the previous day when he shoved Ura off the raised ring in a matter of seconds.

Weary of Ura's tendency for unorthodox moves, Onosato relied on a barrage of arm thrusts to keep separation from the No 2 maegashira and eventually shoved his opponent out to improve to 5-2. Ura fell to 2-5.

Takanosho Stays in Title Contention

In other major bouts, sixth-ranked maegashira Takanosho calmly waltzed Mitakeumi out of the ring to improve to 6-1.

That No 7 maegashira Mitakeumi was even able to compete was a surprise. The former ozeki had to be stretchered out after falling off the ring in the previous day's bout and landing hard on his shoulder.

He put up little resistance on Day 7 and dropped to 5-2.

*On his 40th birthday, Tamawashi (right) clashes with Midorifuji. (KYODO)*

A Victorious 40th Birthday for Tamawashi at the Kyushu Basho

Sumo's ironman Tamawashi of Mongolia celebrated his 40th birthday when he used an arm thrust to the neck to send Midorifuji tumbling to the clay.

No 11 Tamawashi improved to 4-3 while ninth-ranked Midorifuji dropped to 3-4.

Even at the age of 40, Tamawashi still has what it takes to defeat men almost half his age.

"I was able to do my style of sumo," Tamawashi said before adding, "I don't feel like I'm 40."

Tamawashi then said, "I just want to continue fighting my way. A lot of my fans are happy by my performance and I'm happy. I want to get back to the sanyaku ranks, that's my goal."

Tobizaru Improves to 5-2

Sumo's Flying Monkey Tobizaru, a No 5 maegashira, kept his name near the top of the Kyushu Basho leaderboard when he shoved out struggling sixth-ranked maegashira Nishikigi (1-6) to move to 5-2.

Further down the ranks, March tournament winner Takerufuji (5-2) forced out fellow rank-and-filer Onokatsu (6-1) to hand the Mongolian his first loss.

Sekiwake Kirishima picked up his second straight win when he got a double-handed grip on the belt of Shodai and frogmarched the komusubi out to give both men a record of 2-5.

No 2 maegashira Wakatakakage, who upset Onosato on the previous day, was bulldozed out by fourth-ranked Oshoma to drop to 4-3. Oshoma improved to 2-5.

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.