Soon-to-be ozeki Takayasu spoke on Monday of his relief in coming through the crucial Summer Grand Sumo Tournament unhurt and with enough wins to make promotion almost certain, while making clear his sights are now set on an Emperor's Cup title.
The Ibaraki-native, whose mother is from the Philippines, ended this month's tourney with a 11-4 record as a sekiwake and took his tally to 34 wins over the past three tourneys, one above the required mark of 33 to reach the second highest rank.
His promotion is to be officially announced on Wednesday.