Mongolian Asashoryu regained sole possession of the lead Thursday as rival Dejima was upset by Takanotsuru on the 12th day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
No. 3 ranked maegashira Dejima was shoved back to the edge by the larger Takanotsuru shortly after the face-off but held on by sidestepping his opponent at the last minute.
Takanotsuru, a 13th-ranked maegashira, refused to let up and threw Dejima down to improve to 9-3. Dejima dropped to 10-2 and heads into the final three days of the 15-day tournament one win back of Asashoryu.