NAGOYA — At this point there are few, if any, left from the tattered ranks who can stop Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho as he zeroes in on his 15th career title in sole possession of the lead at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
After handing out a beating to sekiwake Kotoshogiku on Wednesday, the lone yokozuna is likely to bump heads with the three remaining ozeki in the coming days but none of them appear up to the challenge of pulling off an upset, let alone snapping his incredible winning streak, which he has stretched to a personal-best 43 bouts.
Away from the ring, sumo has been facing a public relations nightmare after revelations of a gambling ring surfaced in the Japanese national sport and there have been reports of alleged ties to the criminal underworld on almost a daily basis since the start of the Nagoya meet on July 11.