Terunofuji Pushed to the Brink But Recovers to Post Second Straight win

Grand champion Terunofuji survived a scare at the hands of Takanosho on Tuesday, July 12 but recovered to post his second straight win at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

Takanosho got a right-hand grip on the belt of the lone grand champion and attempted an arm throw at the edge in the day’s final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.

But Terunofuji kept his poise and countered with his own arm throw to drive the top maegashira down to the dirt surface.

Takanosho defeated Terunofuji in the May tournament and almost pulled off another huge upset on Day 3 but couldn’t finish off Terunofuji, who enjoys a considerable size advantage.

Terunofuji improved to 2-1 in the 15-day tournament while Takanosho fell to 1-2. 

Bidding for his eighth Emperor’s Cup in this basho, Terunofuji has looked solid after an opening-day loss to komusubi Abi.

Rank-and-filers Ichinojo, Tamawashi, Aoiyama, Nishikigi and Ichiyamamoto all share the lead at 3-0.

In other major bouts, ozeki Takakeisho used his thrusting sumo to send No. 2 maegashira Kotonowaka backpedaling out of the ring while improving to 2-1.

Kotonowaka, who will face Terunofuji on Day 4, had posted two straight wins over ozeki wrestlers to open the tourney but couldn’t make it a clean sweep and fell to 2-1.

Ichinojo Improves to 3-0

In an all-Mongolian showdown, Ichinojo got a left-hand grip on the belt of Hoshoryu (1-2) and forced the komusubi out to maintain his share of the lead at 3-0.

No. 2 maegashira Ichinojo missed the entire previous tournament in May with a bout of COVID-19 but has looked sharp in his return.

The struggles continued for kadoban ozeki Shodai, who put up a better effort on Day 3 but still lost when he was spun around and shoved out by Kiribayama.

Top maegashira Kiribayama improved to 2-1 while Shodai, who needs a winning record to avoid demotion, dropped to 0-3.

“My body has been moving well,” Kiribayama said. “I just want to continue fighting my own brand of sumo and hopefully things will work out.”

Tamawashi Outduels Endo

Mongolian No. 3 maegashira Tamawashi used a barrage of powerful arm thrusts to send Endo toppling off the raised ring while improving to 3-0. Fifth-ranked Endo fell to 1-2.

Bulgarian Aoiyama, a sixth-ranked maegashira, swatted down Okinoumi to stay tied for the lead at 3-0. Maegashira No. 7 Okinoumi fell to 1-2.

Lower-ranked wrestler Nishikigi beat Hokutofuji while rank-and-filer Ichiyamamoto defeated Terutsuyoshi to remain undefeated.

Komusubi Abi improved to 2-1 when he used his trademark arm thrusts to overpower ozeki Mitakeumi, who dropped to 1-2.

Mitakeumi also needs a winning record in this tournament to avoid demotion.

“I tried not to think too much,” Abi said. “I lost yesterday so I was determined to come back with a better effort today by sticking to the basics.”

Sekiwake Daieisho finally picked up his first win when he used superb footwork at the edge of the ring to swat down fourth-ranked maegashira Wakamotoharu. Both wrestlers stand at 1-2.

Sekiwake Wakatakakage also picked up his first win of the tournament with a powerful pushdown of third-ranked maegashira Ura, who also has a 1-2 record.

In an earlier bout, Kotoeko used a textbook arm throw at the edge to topple Meisei and improve to 2-1.

Ninth-ranked maegashira Kotoeko was pushed back to the edge just after the face-off by No. 10 Meisei when he attempted a leg kick. 

When that didn’t do the trick, the muscular Sadogatake stable wrestler used a perfect overarm throw to send Meisei toppling off the raised ring and to his second loss.

Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for more than 25 years. You can find his articles here.