Sumo

Kotozakura Overpowers Atamifuji to Stay Undefeated and Tied for Lead at Autumn Basho

The ozeki grappler is bidding for his first Emperor's Cup and has looked solid through the first four days of the 15-day Autumn Basho in Tokyo.

by
Jim Armstrong
September 11, 2024

Ozeki Kotozakura posted a one-sided win over Atamifuji on Wednesday, September 11 to stay undefeated at 4-0 and in a four-way tie for the lead at the Autumn Basho.

In the day's penultimate bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Kotozakura took advantage of a superior face-off before getting both arms around Atamifuji and driving the No 2 maegashira out with a frontal force-out.

Bidding for his first Emperor's Cup, Kotozakura barely broke a sweat in Wednesday's bout against the heavier Atamifuji, who had no answer and fell to 1-3.

A Four-Way Tie at the Autumn Basho

Kotozakura is now tied with Onosato, Kirishima and rank-and-filer Shodai.

In other major bouts at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, sekiwake Onosato got a right hand in on Daieisho and used a frontal force-out to defeat the komusubi and stay tied for the lead at 4-0. Daieisho fell to 1-3.

Onosato is chasing promotion to ozeki and could achieve that with 12 wins in this tournament.

In a showdown of former ozeki, sekiwake Kirishima got a double-handed grip on the belt of Mitakeumi and waltzed the No 3 maegashira out in a matter of seconds to stay perfect at 4-0.

Mitakeumi put up little resistance and dropped to 1-3.

Former ozeki Shodai, currently a No 4 maegashira, deployed a superb beltless arm throw at the edge to defeat third-ranked Wakamotoharu (2-2) and improve to 4-0.

Tobizaru Upsets Hoshoryu

In the day's final bout, Flying Monkey Tobizaru, a top maegashira, pulled off an upset when he hauled down struggling ozeki Hoshoryu to even his record at 2-2.

Hoshoryu came into the 15-day basho as one of the top Autumn Basho contenders for the silverware but is already in a 1-3 hole.

Sekiwake Abi dodged to his left shortly after the face-off and used a hand pulldown maneuver to defeat Takanosho to pick up his second win against a pair of losses.

Top maegashira Takanosho (1-3), who lost to yokozuna Terunofuji in a playoff at the Nagoya meet, lost his third straight.

Hiradoumi Improves to 3-1

Komusubi Hiradoumi got both arms around Oho (1-3) and used a frontal crush-out to defeat the No 2 maegashira and move to 3-1.

No 7 maegashira Wakatakakage picked up his third win against a sole loss when he survived a close battle with fifth-ranked Ura.

Ura pushed Wakatakakage to the edge and was initially ruled the winner but the ringside judges went to the video to determine he stepped out before his opponent hit the dirt.

A day after setting the record for most consecutive bouts in the elite division, No 10 maegashira Tamawashi fell victim to Midorifuji's trademark under shoulder swing-down. As a result, Tamawashi fell to 1-3.

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.