Rejuvenated Terunofuji Continues to Impress at Nagoya Basho

Grand champion Terunofuji continued his dominant start to the Nagoya Basho on Wednesday, July 17 when he overpowered Mitakeumi to move into sole possession of the lead after four days of competition.

In the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Terunofuji got a left-hand grip on the belt of Mitakeumi and drove the No 2 maegashira out with a textbook frontal force-out.

Terunofuji was forced to sit out most of the previous two tournaments with injuries. The yokozuna improved to a perfect 4-0 as he pursues his 10th Emperor's Cup. Mitakeumi dropped to 1-3.

The last time former ozeki Mitakeumi beat Terunofuji was way back in January of 2022.

Tobizaru, Gonoyama Defeat Ozeki

In other major bouts at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, sumo's Flying Monkey Tobizaru, a fourth-ranked maegashira, used a rear throw-down at the edge to topple ozeki Takakeisho and earn his third win against one loss.

It was a painful loss for Takakeisho, who dropped to 1-3. Takakeisho needs at least eight wins in this basho to maintain his ozeki status for the next tournament in September.

Hoshoryu became the second ozeki to lose when third-ranked maegashira Gonoyama deployed a barrage of fierce thrusts to send the Mongolian toppling off the raised ring, giving both grapplers a 2-2 record.

"I just wanted to do my style of sumo," said Gonoyama, who will face Terunofuji on Day 5. "My strategy was to step in strong at the face-off and move him back."

Kotozakura restored some ozeki pride when he got both arms around Wakamotoharu right after the face-off and bulldozed the No 2 maegashira out to move to 3-1. Wakamotoharu fell to 2-2.

Komusubi Daieisho used his bread-and-butter arm thrusts to shove out Kirishima and hand the sekiwake his first loss of the 15-day basho.

Daieisho improved to 2-2 while Kirishima fell to 3-1. Mongolian Kirishima could regain ozeki status if he is able to get at least 10 wins.

Onosato Falls to 1-3 in Nagoya Basho

New komusubi Hiradoumi dodged to his left after the face-off and thrust down Onosato to even his record at 2-2.

Onosato, who won the May tournament, is struggling in his sekiwake debut and dropped to 1-3. The 24-year-old native of Ishikawa Prefecture can still post a decent record. But he likely can rule out any promotion to ozeki with three losses already.

Fourth-ranked maegashira Ura got a right-hand grip on the belt of Atamifuji. He then executed a perfectly timed pulling underarm throw to send the top maegashira sprawling to the dirt surface to improve to 3-1. 

Atamifuji, who has already beaten two ozeki wrestlers in the Nagoya Basho, dropped to 2-2.

Asanoyama Leaves Arena in a Wheelchair

Asanoyama's run at the top of the leaderboard came to an abrupt end when he was thrust down to the dirt surface by fellow rank-and-filer Ichiyamamoto. Both grapplers stand at 3-1.

Asanoyama, who sat out the entire May tourney due to an injured right knee, landed awkwardly on his left knee and had to be taken out of the arena in a wheelchair.

The former ozeki is scheduled to face Midorifuji on Day 5.

Tenth-ranked Midorifuji (2-2) also defeated one of the overnight co-leaders when he got a grip on the belt of Oshoma and shoved the ninth-ranked maegashira out to his first loss. 

Yet another rank-and-filer dropped out of the lead when seventh-ranked maegashira Kotoshoho jumped to his side at the face-off and pulled down Shonannoumi to give both men a record of 3-1.

RELATED:

• Terunofuji Serves Notice with a Convincing Win Over Wakamotoharu at Nagoya Basho
• Terunofuji Dominates Meisei to Improve to 2-0 at Nagoya Basho
• Mitakeumi Stuns Nagoya Basho Favorite Onosato on the 1st Day

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.