Hoshoryu and Kotozakura remained on a collision course at the Kyushu Basho on Saturday, November 23 when the two ozeki grapplers both won their Day 14 bouts to set up a tantalizing showdown on the final day.
In the day's final bout at Fukuoka Kokusai Center, Hoshoryu lifted fellow Mongolian Kirishima up and carried the sekiwake out over the edge to improve to 13-1.
Kirishima dropped to 6-8 and will finish the 15-day tournament with a losing record.
In the penultimate bout, Kotozakura got a left-hand outside grip to break Onosato's balance before using an overarm throw to send his fellow ozeki out and improve to 13-1.
It's been a bit of a disappointing ozeki debut for Onosato, who won the previous tournament and came into this basho with high hopes to at least contest for the title again but dropped to 8-6.
Kotozakura is bidding for his first championship. He will face Hoshoryu on the final day for all the marbles.
Hoshoryu has one Emperor's Cup under his belt, which he won in July 2023. But he will be bidding for his first at sumo's second-highest rank.
Hoshoryu holds a 12-6 record in head-to-head bouts with Kotozakura.
Abi Wins All-Maegashira Showdown at the Kyushu Basho
In a showdown of No 3 maegashira, Abi used his trademark arm thrusts to send Atamifuji toppling off the raised ring to improve to 11-3. Atamifuji fell to 7-7.
Wakatakakage secured double-digit wins when he shoved out fellow No 2 maegashira Ura to move to 10-4. Ura fell to 5-9 and will be falling down the rankings for the next tournament.
March tournament winner Takerufuji, a No 16 maegashira, used a frontal push-out to beat 10th-ranked Ichiyamamoto (7-7) and improve to 9-5.
Sekiwake Daieisho wrapped up a winning record when he thrust down Takanosho to improve to 8-6. No 6 maegashira Takanosho was in contention until Day 11, but he lost his third straight to drop to 10-4.
Further down the ranks, Ukrainian Shishi deployed a beltless arm throw to dispatch the much smaller Midorifuji, a ninth-ranked maegashira who dropped to 6-8.
No 16 maegashira Shishi improved to 4-10. Regardless of what happens on the final day, Shishi will be going back down to the juryo division for the next tournament but he gained valuable experience in the elite division.
RELATED:
- Hoshoryu Beats Fellow Ozeki Onosato to Set Up a Kyushu Basho Showdown with Kotozakura
- Hoshoryu Overpowers Shodai at the Kyushu Basho to Stay Tied for the Lead
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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