Fresh off his victory at March's Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, yokozuna Kakuryu will head into May's summer tourney atop the latest rankings, the Japan Sumo Association announced Monday.
After an injury-plagued 2017, the 32-year-old Mongolian has put together two solid tournaments this year despite dealing with a right-hand injury. Kakuyru has never won more than nine bouts in each of the tournaments immediately following his previous three championships, and winning a fifth at the 15-day slugfest at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan starting on May 13 should be more difficult still.
Hakuho, whose 40 makuuchi division championships are the most in history, and fellow yokozuna Kisenosato are expected to rejoin the fray after both sat out the March tourney with injuries. Hakuko was out with a toe injury, while Kisenosato has been hampered by injuries he suffered to his left pectoral muscle and arm during last year's Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.