Onosato Stuns Terunofuji to Add Drama to the Nagoya Basho

New sekiwake Onosato upset yokozuna Terunofuji on Wednesday, July 24 to deny the Mongolian grappler the chance to build a three-win cushion at the Nagoya Basho.

In the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Onosato caught Terunofuji leaning too far forward and used a thrust-down technique to send the stunned yokozuna toppling to the dirt surface for his first loss.

"I just wanted to throw caution to the wind," Onosato said before adding, "I lost yesterday and wasn't in a good frame of mind so I just decided to give it my all today and it worked out well."

He added, "I just tried to stay calm, there is still plenty of sumo left."

Onosato improved to 6-5 while Terunofuji dropped to 10-1. The grand champion still has a two-win lead over five other grapplers with four days left as he pursues his 10th Emperor's Cup.

The last time the two met, Onosato defeated Terunofuji on Day 1 of the May tournament, a result that would send Onosato on his way to winning his first basho. Terunofuji pulled out on Day 2 with injuries.

Kotozakura Loses for Third Time at Nagoya Basho

Terunofuji got a huge boost earlier when compatriot Kirishima shoved out Kotozakura, handing the ozeki his third loss against eight wins. 

Kirishima, who improved to 6-5, had an element of desperation to his performance on Day 11 as he needs to win all his remaining bouts to regain ozeki status.

Speaking of ozeki status, Takakeisho picked up a clutch win in a hard-fought battle with third-ranked maegashira Gonoyama, who dropped to 3-8.

Takakeisho, who needs eight wins to maintain his ozeki status, improved to 5-6. This means he must win three of his last four bouts to stay at sumo's second-highest rank for the next basho in September.

Hoshoryu Improves to 8-3

Ozeki Hoshoryu used a rare arm-bar throw at the edge to toppled sekiwake Abi (6-5) and wrap up a winning record at 8-3.

New komusubi Hiradoumi continued to impress when he spun the much larger Atamifuji (4-7) around after the face-off and shoved the top maegashira out to pick up his seventh win against four losses.

Komusubi Daieisho used his bread-and-butter arm thrusts to the upper body to send Wakamotoharu backpedaling out of the ring.

Daieisho improved to 7-4 while Wakamotoharu lost his fourth straight bout to fall to 4-7.

Wakatakakage Seals Winning Record

No 14 maegashira Wakatakakage (8-3) executed a superb pulling overarm throw to defeat rank-and-filer Chiyoshoma (3-3-5) to wrap up a winning record.

Former sekiwake Wakatakakage is making his return to the elite makuuchi division after a long absence due to injury and a stint in the lower ranks.

He will be looking to work his way back to the upper sanyaku ranks where he fought before his injury in 2023.

Churanoumi Stays in Contention

No 12 maegashira Churanoumi is also at 8-3 after he relied on a frontal force-out to dispatch sixth-ranked maegashira Oho, who dropped to 6-5.

It was the fastest Churanoumi has reached a winning record, doing so with four days left.

"I was just trying to move forward," Churanoumi said. "My game plan is to give it my all each and every day. I still don't think I have enough power to be successful in the top division but will try my best to get double-digit wins."

Takanosho also wrapped up a winning record after the sixth-ranked maegashira shoved out former ozeki Shodai to move to 8-3. No 10 Shodai dropped to 7-4 and could secure a winning record on Day 12.

RELATED:

• Terunofuji Inches Closer to 10th Emperor's Cup with a Convincing Nagoya Basho Win Over Kirishima
• Terunofuji Beats the Heat and Shonannoumi to Stay in Control at Nagoya Basho

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.