Goeido made mincemeat of Yoshikaze to maintain his slender lead at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday and secure his ozeki status for the next basho into the bargain.

Needing a majority of wins to save his rank after going 7-8 in Nagoya in July, Goeido (8-0) took control after a brief exchange of slaps and thrusts and barged out No. 1 maegashira Yoshikaze (3-5) to stay one win clear with seven days remaining at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Mongolian yokozuna Harumafuji also won to stay in touch with Goeido at 7-1 along with the maegashira pair of Okinoumi and Endo. Yokozuna hopeful Kisenosato shared third place at 6-2 with fellow ozeki Kotoshogiku and two other wrestlers.