Mongolian ozeki Asashoryu delved into his arsenal to shoot down veteran Takanonami on Wednesday, maintaining his flawless start to the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on a day that also saw yokozuna Takanohana announce his umpteenth comeback bid.
After jumping the gun in the day's final bout at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, Asashoryu (4-0) escaped from Takanonami's clutches to take control of matters by sliding his opponent across the sand surface and tipping him over the edge of the ring for his second loss.
Asashoryu, who with 13 wins and his second Emperor's Cup would become the first Mongolian to earn promotion to sumo's top rank of yokozuna, is in a three-way tie for the lead with rank-and-filers Kotoryu and Kaiho.