Estonia-born ozeki Baruto saw his bid for yokozuna promotion take a hit Wednesday as he was sent to a shock first defeat at the hands of Mongolian sekiwake Kakuryu on the fourth day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
Baruto's slapdash sumo style reared its ugly head in his first real test of the 15-day meet, when he was toppled onto his back by rival Kakuryu, who improved to a 4-0 mark to share the lead with lone yokozuna Hakuho, ozeki Harumafuji and rank-and-filer Takayasu.
In the day's premier bout at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Baruto and Kakuryu fought to a standstill as they tussled for leverage and the ozeki tried spinning his opponent around violently to reposition himself, only for Kakuryu to deploy a leg trip near the edge for the victory.