Title favorite Terunofuji won a drawn-out battle with komusubi Takayasu to stay one win clear atop the leaderboard Wednesday at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
The new yokozuna fought patiently in Day 11's final bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan to defeat a troublesome opponent who had won 12 of their 21 past meetings in the top division.
With Terunofuji taking a strong right-hand belt grip, former ozeki Takayasu fought a dogged defensive battle, preventing the Mongolian-born grand champion from going in for the kill early.