Yokozuna Hakuho threw away his sole lead at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, slipping and falling on his charge on Tuesday to suffer his first loss of the 15-day event.
Sekiwake Tochiozan, who knocked off his second-straight yokozuna opponent, was the benefactor when Hakuho lunged to get a belt hold but missed and slipped down. The surprise win left both men and two others, yokozuna Kakuryu and ozeki Terunofuji, tied at 9-1 at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Kakuryu, wrestling in his first tournament since January due to shoulder issues, kept komusubi Takarafuji (1-9) at bay with good balance and repeated blows to the throat. When his opponent overextended himself in a lunge, the yokozuna easily slapped him down to win by hatakikomi.