Sumo

Young Wrestlers Takerufuji and Onosato Continue to Dominate at Spring Basho

The two rising stars both defeated veteran grapplers in Spring Basho bouts and will square off in a pivotal match on Day 10 in Osaka.

by
Jim Armstrong
March 18, 2024

Surprising rookie Takerufuji overpowered veteran Abi on Monday, March 18 to remain in sole possession of the lead at the Spring Basho.

It was the first time in this tournament that Takerufuji has faced a wrestler in the upper sanyaku (top-three) ranks and he came through with flying colors in one of the featured bouts at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.

Komusubi Abi is known for his powerful double-handed arm thrusts to the neck that he uses to throw wrestlers off balance.

But No 17 maegashira Takerufuji (9-0) simply came bursting out of the face-off, denying Abi a chance to extend his arms and shoving his stunned opponent out over the edge in a matter of seconds.

Takerufuji will face Onosato on Tuesday, the 10th day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament. It will be the first meeting between the two young grapplers.

Onosato Continues Quest for Spring Basho Title

On Monday, No 5 maegashira Onosato was also facing a sanyaku wrestler in sekiwake Wakamotoharu and was not intimidated.

Onosato capitalized on a superior face-off and then used his 40-kilogram weight advantage to shove the sekiwake out and improve to 8-1. Wakamotoharu fell to 5-4.

"I felt good coming out of the face-off," Onosato said before adding, "I lost to sanyaku wrestlers in the last tournament and that was a great learning experience for me."

The Ishikawa Prefecture native added, "I feel like I have a lot of confidence now and just want to do my best."

Newly promoted ozeki Kotonowaka stayed in the title chase when he overpowered sekiwake Daieisho (4-5) with a powerful arm thrust to earn his seventh win against a pair of losses.

Further down the ranks, rank-and-filer Shonannoumi shoved out No 8 maegashira Onosho (5-4) to improve to 7-2.

Midorifuji Shocks Hoshoryu

In the day's biggest upset, diminutive Midorifuji used an under-shoulder swing-down to stun ozeki Hoshoryu seconds after the face-off.

It was a major blow to Hoshoryu's title hopes as he fell to 6-3. Fifth-ranked maegashira Midorifuji notched his fourth win against five losses.

Struggling ozeki Kirishima used a frontal force-out to dispatch Nishikigi and improve to 3-6. Komusubi Nishikigi, also having a rough tournament, dropped to 1-8.

Takakeisho Outwrestles Tobizaru

Takakeisho used his trademark arm thrusts to bulldoze Tobizaru out to move to 7-2, one win away from securing the eight he needs to maintain his ozeki status for the next tournament in May.

No 4 maegashira Tobizaru put up a good fight but ran out of steam and fell to 5-4.

In a showdown of No 2 maegashira, Meisei had his hands full with the giant Atamifuji. But Meisei relied on his veteran experience to drive his opponent out and give both wrestlers a record of 4-5.

Hometown favorite and top maegashira Ura gave the Osaka fans a thrill when unleashed a beltless arm throw at the edge to send Asanoyama tumbling down and improve to 4-5.

Former ozeki Asanoyama, also a top maegashira, also stands at 4-5.

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.