Grand champion Terunofuji steamrolled over Meisei on Monday, July 15 for a confidence-boosting win that allowed the Mongolian grappler to improve to 2-0 at the Nagoya Basho.
In the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Terunofuji came bursting out of the face-off and overwhelmed the top maegashira with a frontal force-out. Meisei fell to 1-1.
After winning the New Year tournament for his ninth Emperor's Cup, Terunofuji was forced to sit out the next two basho as he recovered from injury. He looked fit in the one-sided win over Meisei but there is still a long way to go.
In other major Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament bouts, No 2 maegashira Wakamotoharu was pushed back to the edge after the initial face-off. But Wakamotoharu got a left hand on the belt of Onosato and drove the newly promoted sekiwake out to pick up his second straight win.
Onosato won May's Summer Basho and came into this tournament as one of the favorites. But this is far from the start he wanted as he was handed his second straight loss to drop to 0-2.
Kotozakura Showcases Strength Against Atamifuji
In a battle of heavyweights, ozeki Kotozakura spun Atamifuji around at the edge and swatted the top maegashira out to give both wrestlers a record of 1-1.
Relegation-threatened ozeki Takakeisho (1-1) used a perfectly timed swat to the back of the head of Daieisho (1-1) to defeat the komusubi.
Takakeisho needs at least eight wins in this meet to maintain his ozeki status. He will be relieved to notch his first win after an opening-day loss to Meisei.
Ozeki Hoshoryu unleashed a ferocious torrent of arm thrusts and slaps to the face to send komusubi Hiradoumi backpedaling out for his first win against one loss. Hiradoumi fell to 0-2.
In a showdown of former ozeki, sekiwake Kirishima got a double-handed grip on the belt of Mitakeumi and hoisted the No 2 maegashira out over the straw ridge to improve to 2-0 at the Nagoya Basho.
Mitakeumi, who beat Onosato on Day 1, could not establish a grip on the belt and fell to 1-1.
Fourth-ranked maegashira Ura was pushed back to the edge by Gonoyama (1-1) but got both arms around his opponent and frogmarched the No 3 maegashira out the entire distance of the ring to improve to 2-0.
Asanoyama Wins Again at the Nagoya Basho
Further down the ranks, fan favorite Asanoyama used a frontal force-out to dispatch fellow rank-and-filer Hokutofuji to improve to 2-0. Hokutofuji dropped to 0-2.
Former ozeki Asanoyama sat out the entire May tournament due to an injured knee and is hoping to move up the ranks with a solid record in Nagoya.
Veteran Tamawashi, fighting in his 89th tournament in the elite makuuchi division, used a frontal crush-out to make quick work of 10th-ranked Midorifuji (1-1).
Ninth-ranked Tamawashi, who will turn 40 in November, raised his record to 2-0.
On the injury list, No 3 maegashira Takayasu pulled out of the tournament on Day 2 after suffering a tear in his left pectoral muscle in the previous day's loss to Kirishima. He will need at least three weeks to recover, according to reports.
Takayasu forfeited his Day 2 bout against sekiwake Abi and fell to 0-2. Abi picked up his first win by default and stands at 1-1.
RELATED:
- Mitakeumi Stuns Nagoya Basho Favorite Onosato on the 1st Day
- Onosato Takes on Nagoya Basho, Determined to Rise
- Combining Speed with Size, Onosato Has Arrived as a Bona Fide Sumo Star
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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