Sumo

Terunofuji Dispatches Gonoyama to Stay in Sole Lead at Nagoya Basho

After five days at the Nagoya Basho, the lone yokozuna is off to his best start since May of 2023 when he won the Emperor's Cup with a 14-1 mark.

by
Jim Armstrong
July 18, 2024

Grand champion Terunofuji further silenced his critics on Thursday, July 18 when he defeated a determined Gonoyama to post his fifth straight win without a loss at the Nagoya Basho.

No 3 maegashira Gonoyama used a powerful arm thrust just after the face-off in the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium to send the Mongolian a few steps back.

But the experienced yokozuna stayed calm, got a left-handed grip on the belt and waltzed his opponent out with a frontal thrust-out to improve to a perfect 5-0 in the 15-day basho. Gonoyama dropped to 2-3.

Pursuing his 10th Emperor's Cup, Terunofuji is one win ahead of five rank-and-filers who are all at 4-1.

Onosato Conquers Kirishima in Nagoya Basho Duel

In an all-sekiwake showdown, May tournament winner Onosato stood Kirishima up at the face-off, grabbed the arm of his opponent and shoved the Mongolian out with a frontal thrust-out to move to 2-3.

Kirishima, who hopes to notch 10 wins to regain ozeki status, lost his second straight bout and dropped to 3-2.

No 2 maegashira Mitakeumi displayed superb agility at the edge where he used a spectacular underarm throw to send ozeki Kotozakura down to the dirt surface.

Both wrestlers appeared to fall out at the same time but the referee correctly ruled that Kotozakura's elbow landed on the dohyo first and the ringside judges met to confirm the call.

Mitakeumi improved to 2-3 while Kotozakura dropped to 3-2.

"I was pretty sure I had the match won and was relieved when they made the final call," Mitakeumi said. He added, "I've always had difficulty against him so I just tried to have a strong face-off and use good footwork."

Takakeisho Ends Two-Match Losing Streak

In other major bouts at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, relegation-threatened ozeki Takakeisho relied on a bread-and-butter frontal force-out to defeat fourth-ranked Ura (3-2) for a much-needed win.

Takakeisho, who needs a winning record with at least eight victories to maintain his ozeki status, was coming off two straight losses but improved to 2-3.

Ozeki Hoshoryu grabbed the left arm of Wakamotoharu, briefly lost the grip and then shoved the No 2 maegashira off the ring to pick up his third win against two losses. Wakamotoharu fell to 2-3.

Sumo's iron man and No 9 maegashira Tamawashi, who will turn 40 in November, deployed a thrust-down technique to defeat Ichiyamamoto and improve to 4-1. Eleventh-ranked maegashira Ichiyamamoto fell to 3-2.

Fifth-ranked maegashira Shonannoumi executed a superb arm throw to send seventh-ranked maegashira Sadanoumi (2-3) sprawling to the dirt surface while staying in the chase pack at 4-1.

Asanoyama, who sat out the entire May tourney due to an injured right knee, was forced to pull out on Day 5 with a left knee injury and will need several months to recover.

In a bout with fellow rank-and-filer Ichiyamamoto on Wednesday, the former ozeki landed awkwardly on his left knee and had to be taken out of the arena in a wheelchair.

He forfeited his Day 5 bout against No 10 maegashira Midorifuji and finishes the tourney with a 3-2 record. Midorifuji improved to 3-2.

Wakatakakage Improves to 4-1

As devastating as the news was for Asnoyama, he could take inspiration from former sekiwake Wakatakakage, who is now fighting as a No 14 maegashira.

Wakatakakage suffered a serious right ACL injury in March of 2023 and is now in the midst of a comeback. He improved to 4-1 on Thursday with a frontal force-out of No 12 maegashira Churanoumi (3-2).

Wakatakakage, who won the Emperor's Cup in March of 2022, had to sit out three entire tournaments in 2023 before coming back to fight in the makushita division.

He won the juryo division championship in May and has returned to the elite makuuchi division for this tournament. After an opening-day loss, the brother of Wakamotoharu has now won four straight bouts.

Other rank-and-filers at 4-1 are Tobizaru and Oshoma.

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.