Georgian Tochinoshin will face his first threat to survival as an ozeki starting on Sept. 9, when the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament kicks off.
The 30-year-old failed to win eight bouts in July, his first tournament as an ozeki. He won five of his first seven matches but injured his right big toe and was forced to sit out the final eight days in Nagoya.
Placed at the bottom of the ozeki trio in the latest rankings published Monday by the Japan Sumo Association, Tochinoshin is now a kadoban ozeki and will need a minimum of eight wins over the 15 days at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan if he is to remain at sumo's second-highest rank. Tochinoshin is the first ozeki in 18 years to be threatened with relegation in his second tournament.