Just three days into the first grand sumo meet of 2023 and we may already have an idea of how the next 12 months are going to pan out inside the ring.
Of course, with four-fifths of the tournament still to go, it is too early to know the ultimate destination of the Emperor’s Cup for January, but the level at which one of the sport’s most promising stars has been performing seems to indicate that a much anticipated breakthrough is on the verge of taking place.
After five straight tournaments with winning records from his debut in the sanyaku ranks, sekiwake Hoshoryu has opened the new year with three highly impressive wins.