NAGOYA — The Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament kicked off the opening day on Sunday to a nearly packed house shaken but undeterred by a gambling scandal rocking the ancient sport.
Yokozuna Hakuho, bidding for his third consecutive title, got off to a turbo start with a victory over Georgian Tochinoshin, shrugging off his own critics following a gaffe he made earlier this week.
In the day's final at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Hakuho quickly got both hands wrapped around the newly promoted komusubi before rolling him to the dirt with an overarm throw.