Shodai suffered his first loss at the November Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday and appeared to further aggravate a left ankle injury, leaving his further participation in the 15-day meet in doubt.
The newly-promoted ozeki had been one of 10 undefeated men at the start of Day 4 at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan. The group, headlined by ozeki Takakeisho and komusubi Terunofuji, was trimmed to seven by the end of the day's bouts.
Fighting with a taped left ankle, Shodai made a brief defense against No. 2 maegashira Daieisho (3-1) in the penultimate bout of the day before getting driven out of the ring and hopping off the dohyo.