Rising star Hoshoryu grabbed the outright lead Wednesday at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, racking up another impressive win after fellow front-runner Oho suffered his second loss of the 15-day meet.
The two young guns started Day 11 deadlocked at 9-1, but only 23-year-old Hoshoryu managed to hold serve, dominating fellow sekiwake Mitakeumi to reach 10 wins for the first time as a member of the three sanyaku ranks below yokozuna.
Fighting as a No. 13 maegashira, the 22-year-old Oho was thrust out by No. 9 Abi and joined No. 1 Takayasu on the second rung of the leaderboard at 9-2. Ozeki Takakeisho, meanwhile, stayed in the title race at 8-3 by slapping down No. 5 Hokutofuji (6-5).