The championship race at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament blew wide open on Wednesday as sekiwake Shodai and three rank-and-filers fell to their first loss.
Shodai (3-1) had been the last grappler in the three sanyaku ranks below yokozuna to remain undefeated at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, but had his perfect run ended by top-ranked maegashira Terunofuji.
Terunofuji (2-2) took control from the onset of their Day 4 bout and overwhelmed the sekiwake with a relentless thrusting attack before shoving him out. Shodai had entered the fight with a two-bout advantage over 10 meetings with the July Basho champion.