Ozeki Mitakeumi Makes Winning Debut at Sumo's Second-Highest Rank

Newly promoted wrestler Mitakeumi made a winning start in his ozeki debut on Sunday, March 13 by defeating Mongolian giant Ichinojo on the opening day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.

Mitakeumi was pushed to the edge several times at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium by the 206-kilogram No. 2 maegashira but maintained his poise and forced his opponent out to pick up the hard-fought victory.

After being promoted to the sport’s second-highest rank after defeating lone yokozuna Terunofuji and finishing with 13-2 record at January’s New Year Basho, Mitakeumi missed three weeks of practice due to a COVID-19 infection.

But he showed no signs of any weakness in Sunday’s bout, standing tall against the 190-centimeter Ichinojo, who couldn’t take advantage of his size advantage.

Mitakeumi, who was born to a Japanese father and Filipino mother in 1992, needed 28 tournaments as a sekiwake or komusubi before his third grand tournament championship earned him promotion to ozeki.

If he wins this tournament, he would enter the May basho as a yokozuna candidate.

In other major bouts, grand champion Terunofuji got a left-hand grip on the belt of fellow Mongolian Hoshoryu and overpowered the new komusubi to open with a one-sided win.

After missing out on his third straight title as a yokozuna in the January meet, Terunofuji is looking to redeem himself in the Osaka meet. 

Terunofuji had an injured heel over the second week of the New Year tournament when he lost three of his last four bouts.

How the grand champion performs in the first week of the tournament will be an indication of whether he is fully recovered.

Terunofuji has struggled with knee injuries over the past several years and seemed to lose stamina in the second half of the New Year meet.

Demotion-threatened ozeki Takakeisho shoved out top maegashira Ura to kick off his March campaign on a winning note.

Takakeisho went just 1-3 before being forced to pull out with injury in the January meet, and needs a winning record in this tournament to maintain his ozeki status.

Shodai, who also needs a winning record to hang on to his ozeki rank, wasn’t as fortunate.

Top maegashira Daieisho used a barrage of powerful arm thrusts to the head and neck of Shodai, who never got a foot forward against his determined opponent.

The March tournament is being held in Osaka for the first time with fans in three years.

“I think having the fans back is a huge boost for all the wrestlers,” Shodai said. “I don’t want to be too confident after this win. There are a lot of new faces at the top ranks of sumo and that has me motivated to move up.”

Onosho defeated newly promoted sekiwake Abi.

Abi used his trademark thrusting attempts to send Onosho back but tried to pull his opponent down by the head. That gave the No. 3 maegashira an opening and he took advantage by using a frontal force-out for the upset win.

In his last three tournaments, Abi has gone 12-3 twice and 13-2 in the September tournament of 2021, more than enough to earn promotion to sekiwake.

Wakatakakage, another newly promoted sekiwake, picked up an opening-day win when he stepped to his side and used a right-hand thrust down to defeat No. 2 maegashira Tamawashi.

Fourth-ranked maegashira Kiribayama, looking to bounce back from a 6-9 record last tournament, got a solid left-hand grip on the belt and used a frontal force-out to dispatch Endo, also a fourth-ranked maegashira.

In a showdown of No. 9 maegashira, sumo’s flying monkey Tobizaru came bursting out of the face-off and deployed a frontal push-down to topple Wakamotomaru.

Further down the ranks, Chiyotairyu gave the fans a thrill when he used a lift-out technique at the edge to defeat Kotoeko in a battle of two No. 12 maegashira.

Kotoeko forced Chiyotairyu back at the face-off, but the Kokonoe stable wrestler got both arms under those of his opponent and lifted him out over the straw ridge to pick up the opening-day win.

In another spectacular bout, Chiyoshoma used a headlock throw of fellow eighth-ranked maegashira Sadanoumi to send both wrestlers toppling off the raised ring.

The ringside judges needed to huddle to confirm what the referee had already determined; Sadanoumi’s right foot touched the surface before Chiyoshoma hit the dirt.

Takayasu used a strong right-handed arm throw to defeat veteran grappler and fellow seventh-ranked maegashira Okinoumi. Takayasu missed the previous tournament due to a case of COVID-19 but will be looking to bounce back in Osaka.

Follow Jim’s daily reports on the sumo Spring Basho here.

Author: Jim Armstrong