Sumo

Terunofuji Swats Down Takakeisho to Maintain a Two-Win Lead at the Nagoya Basho

The Mongolian grand champion is bidding for his 10th Emperor's Cup and could clinch the title on Saturday, the penultimate day of the Nagoya Basho.

by
Jim Armstrong
July 26, 2024

Yokozuna Terunofuji swatted down ozeki Takakeisho on Friday, July 26 to maintain a two-win lead heading into the final two days of the Nagoya Basho.

In the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, the two wrestlers exchanged a series of arm thrusts. Terunofuji then got a hand on the back of Takakeisho's head and swatted the ozeki down to improve to 12-1.

Terunofuji will face Takanosho on Day 14 with a chance to win his 10th Emperor's Cup on the next-to-last day. Churanoumi takes on Onosato on Saturday.

The loss means Takakeisho dropped to 5-8, meaning he can't secure a winning record in this tournament and will be demoted to sekiwake for the next tournament in September.

Takakeisho was first promoted to ozeki in May of 2019. He is a kadoban (relegation-threatened) ozeki for the ninth time in this tournament.

Churanoumi Keeps Title Hopes Alive

In other major bouts at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, No 12 maegashira Churanoumi ensured the tournament will go down to the last two days when he pushed Daieisho out from behind to move to a personal-best 10-3. Komusubi Daieisho fell to 7-6.

Takanosho also stayed in the title chase when he fought off a slap to the face at the face-off and bulldozed Mongolian Kirishima out over the edge to improve to 10-3.

Sekiwake Kirishima dropped to 7-6 and now has no choice of reaching the 10 wins he needs to return to the ozeki ranks. He will now just focus on securing a winning record to maintain his sekiwake status.

Hoshoryu Pulls Out with Hip Injury

Mongolian ozeki Hoshoryu was forced to pull out of the Nagoya Basho due to an injured hip sustained in the previous day's win over Kotozakura.

Hoshoryu was one of just three wrestlers who had a mathematical chance of catching Terunofuji heading into Day 13 so it was an untimely withdrawal.

Hoshoryu drops to 9-4 while his Day 13 opponent, sekiwake Onosato, improved to 8-5 with the forfeit win. As a result, May tournament champion Onosato wrapped up a winning record.

Abi Earns Victory Over Kotozakura

Sekiwake Abi used a bread-and-butter frontal force-out to send ozeki Kotozakura backpedaling over the straw ridge while improving to 7-6.

"I was able to move very quickly so I think that was the key," Abi said. "As long as I do my own sumo I think I will be able to wrap up a winning record."

Kotozakura, who was hoping for better things in this tournament, dropped to 8-5.

Former sekiwake Wakatakakage conked heads with Hiradoumi at the face-off and then used a series of arm thrust to the upper body to improve to 9-5.

Wakatakakage is currently fighting as a No 14 maegashira but will receive a huge boost in the ranking for the next tournament, September's Autumn Basho.

Newly promoted komusubi Hiradoumi has had a successful outing in this basho and stands at 8-5 after Friday's loss.

Further down the ranks, No 14 maegashira Endo won his eighth straight bout with a frontal force-out of No 8 maegashira Ryuden (3-10) to move to a very impressive 9-4.

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.