J14 – Terunofuji n’est plus qu’à une victoire du titre

Injury-hit yokozuna Kisenosato took to the ring but was powerless to prevent his second defeat in two days at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Saturday, when ozeki Terunofuji took the sole with one day remaining.

Kisenosato’s participation at Edion Arena Osaka was doubtful after he landed on his left shoulder in his Friday defeat to fellow yokozuna Harumafuji. He entered the ring heavily taped ahead of his bout with Mongolian grand champion Kakuryu.

But it proved to be in vain as the 30-year-old’s early slap was easily dealt with by Kakuryu (9-5), who easily had both his hands around Kisenosato’s belt and forced him out in seconds as the packed crowd watched on in silence.

Kisenosato started with an impressive 12 straight wins in his yokozuna debut but now trails his Sunday opponent, Terunofuji, who got his 13th win against Kotoshogiku (8-6).

The manner of the victory drew boos from the crowd, however, as Terunofuji dodged his opponent’s charge and slapped down the onrushing sekiwake. But Terunofuji will now go into the showdown on the final day with his second title at stake.

The 25-year-old Mongolian, whose progress has been hampered by injuries since he was promoted to the rank ahead of the July 2015 grand tournament, won only four bouts in January and could have been demoted to sekiwake if he failed to secure a winning record here.

It was a crucial defeat for Kotoshogiku, whose back-to-back losing records as ozeki saw him demoted to sekiwake here. He could have regained his ozeki ranking with 10 wins, but the sixth defeat eliminated that opportunity.

He now starts from scratch, needing around 33 wins over three tourneys to return to the second-highest echelon — a position he occupied for 32 tourneys.

Harumafuji suffered his fourth defeat at the hands of countryman Tamawashi (8-6). The Mongolian sekiwake secured his winning record after matching a quick charge from the yokozuna, keeping himself on the front foot before winning on a crash out as the grand champion lost his balance slightly.

Sekiwake Takayasu (11-3) ended his three-day losing streak after outlasting Takarafuji (6-8), who fell to a losing record. Both grapplers had left underarm belt holds and neither could pull off a decisive touch in the battle of endurance but Takayasu had the stamina to mount one last drive and send the No. 3 maegashira over the ridge.

Written by Kyodo