Kisenosato got his yokozuna promotion bid back on track after suffering his first defeat a day earlier, steamrolling komusubi Shohozan on the fourth day of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday.
Hakuho, who is gunning to become the first foreign-born wrestler with 26 career titles, shares the lead at 4-0 with ozeki pair Kotooshu and Kotoshogiku as well as Brazilian rank-and-filer Kaisei at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
A battle cry from a man in the crowd right before the tachiai might have given the Naruto ozeki the resolve he needed, and Kisenosato responded with a vicious salvo of slaps to knock winless Shohozan over the ridge in a matter of seconds.