Mongolia’s Kyokushuzan extended his winning streak to eight bouts Sunday, overpowering Roho to stay ahead of his competitors at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
WIDTH="200" HEIGHT="235"/>Kyokushuzan pushes fellow-maegashira Roho out of thering to stay undefeated on Sunday during eighth-day action of
the Autumn Grand Tournament at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan.
After eight days of the 15-day tournament, the unheralded Kyokushuzan, a tenth-ranked maegashira, had a one-win lead over Dejima. Six others, including grand champion Asashoryu and ozeki Kaio, trailed at 6-2.
At Ryogoku Kokugikan, Kyokushuzan repeatedly shoved Roho to stay beyond the Russian newcomer’s longer reach. Once in close quarters, the smaller Mongolian wrestler managed to twist Roho off-balance and out of the ring.
Grand champion Asashoryu, whose attempt at a fifth straight Emperor’s Cup has been thrown in doubt by his two losses so far, was back in winning form with a victory over Shimotori.
The Mongolian yokozuna shoved Shimotori to the ring’s edge but the top-ranked maegashira fought back. After going on the defensive for a few seconds, Asashoryu wrapped his arms around Shimotori, lifted him into the air and nudged him out. Shimotori sank to 3-5.
No. 5 maegashira Dejima knocked down Tochinonada to improve to 7-1.
The ozekis had mixed results. Sekiwake Wakanosato handled Musoyama with ease, stepping back after the face-off clash and flipping the ozeki into the dirt. Wakasato was 6-2, while the injured Musoyama was an embarrassing 2-6.
Ozeki Kaio survived a close call, nearly going down when Asasekiryu heaved him toward the edge. But Kaio regained his footing, grabbed a hold of the Mongolian wrestler’s belt and dumped him into the dirt. Kaio was 6-2 and Asasekiryu, a No. 4 maegashira, fell to 2-6.
Ozeki Chiyotaikai was 5-3 after defeating Tosanoumi. Lurching forward, Tosanoumi seemed undeterred by Chiyotaikai’s face slaps and straight arms. But the ozeki spun unexpectedly and shoved the hapless fourth-ranked maegashira off the platform.
In other bouts, Georgian-born wrestler Kokkai fell to 4-4 after retreating in the face of Iwakiyama’s flurry of shoves. Kokkai, a top maegashira, has impressed by beating all of his ozeki opponents at the Autumn tourney, but his performances against lower-ranking wrestlers have been uninspiring.