While yokozuna Hakuho continues to cruise, ozeki Kisenosato had salt rubbed in his wounds on Monday, when he suffered an embarrassing fourth loss on the ninth day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
A day after his promotion bid to yokozuna effectively ended, the ozeki ran out of steam after his initial charge and let third-ranked maegashira Toyohibiki (3-6) push him out of the raised ring at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Kisenosato, who was taking his second crack at promotion to the sport's exalted top rank, was tasked with winning the tournament with a minimum of 13 victories over 15 days, but his second straight defeat left him a disappointing 5-4.