Summer Basho champion Onosato is undoubtedly the main attraction for the upcoming Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

The 24-year-old former amateur yokozuna has been on fire since turning pro 14 months ago and already stands on the verge of promotion to sumo’s second-highest rank.

Though little has been said publicly about Onosato’s chances of making ozeki, a second straight championship for the Nishonoseki stable man would make the pressure to promote him virtually irresistible for the Japan Sumo Association.

Recent history, however, suggests that a repeat performance isn’t all that likely, as only Terunofuji — twice in 2021 — has managed back-to-back title wins since 2018, and consecutive Emperor’s Cup wins for a wrestler below the rank of ozeki has never happened.

Should Onosato fail to capture glory in Nagoya, it will likely only delay, not derail, what appears to be an unstoppable march to the top of Japan’s national sport.

In five tournaments as a salaried wrestler he has thrice finished with a 12-3 record and twice with 11-4.

Ten wins is normally considered an excellent outing for young up-and-comers, but Onosato has yet to even fall to that high-water mark.

It’s a run of results so excellent that there can be no lingering doubts about the Ishikawa Prefecture native’s ability to perform on the brightest stage.

Standing in Onosato’s way is the aforementioned Terunofuji — a nine-time Emperor’s Cup winner who created sumo history with the greatest comeback the sport has ever seen.

While the yokozuna’s best days are long gone, and just making it to the end of a 15-day meet is now a challenge, Terunofuji is still the most accomplished wrestler in the sport and has shown on numerous occasions that at even 85% he is more than a match for any opponent.

Reports from pre-tournament practice sessions hardly inspire confidence, however, and it’s uncertain whether or not Terunofuji will be able to compete for the full two weeks, never mind contend for honors.

As has so often been the case in recent years, it’s a matter of waiting and seeing how he performs over the first two or three days before we gauge the yokozuna’s true condition.

Should Terunofuji withdraw for the 10th time in 13 tournaments, there are numerous other wrestlers who could provide a challenge to Onosato.

One of them is currently ranked higher than sumo’s latest superstar but has yet to win a tournament.

Kotozakura’s ascension has been slower than that of Onosato and the 26-year-old ozeki is already approaching nine years as a professional athlete.

Though he may lack the dynamism of some of his rivals inside the ring, Kotozakura has stepped things up a notch over the past six months, and a first title seems only a matter of time.

The key for the Sadogatake man will be making it to the middle weekend unbeaten (something he has yet to do), and setting up a situation down the stretch where the pressure is on others, not him, to avoid mistakes.

Though it seems like a lifetime ago, the final three tournaments of 2023, starting in Nagoya a year ago, were won by Hoshoryu, Takakeisho, and Kirishima, respectively. The latter man may have fallen to sekiwake for the upcoming meet, but, in theory, that trio constitutes the remainder of sumo’s elite, and should be in title contention in most tournaments.

In practice, however, only a Hoshoryu championship would not come as a complete surprise.

Takakeisho and Kirishima are both fighting to just be ranked at ozeki in September with the former needing eight wins to save his position and the latter requiring 10 victories to bounce back to the rank. Neither man has shown anything over the past few months to indicate they are in the physical condition to challenge for more silverware.

Instead, the greatest threats to Onosato’s drive for repeat glory seem set to come from the lower half of the division.

Former title-winning sekiwake Wakatakakage is back in the top tier after an injury-enforced spell in the lower divisions.

The 29-year-old was dominant in juryo last time out, claiming the tier-two championship with an impressive 14-1 record.

Ranked at maegashira 14, Wakatakakage won’t face a significantly different level of opponents in Nagoya and could well be in contention for silverware immediately upon his return to the limelight.

The Fukushima native, when healthy, is one of the most dynamic wrestlers in the sport, and with Terunofuji claiming a second Emperor’s Cup in his first tournament back in makuuchi division exactly four years ago, following a fall to the lower tiers, there is recent precedent for a title run.

On the theme of wrestlers attempting to recapture past glories, Asanoyama, if healthy, could be a dark horse candidate for the championship.

The former ozeki missed all of the previous tournament and hasn’t reached double digits since posting a 12-3 record in his makuuchi division return in May last year.

In the upcoming meet, however, he will be at his lowest rank since that meet and should be able to rack up wins early in the tournament against less than stellar opposition.

Oshoma’s 10-5 top division debut two months ago earned him a promotion from maegashira 14 to maegashira 9. That’s still in the lower half of the division, and it’s easy to imagine a situation where the Nippon Sport Science University graduate impresses once again and forces schedule makers to pit him against higher-ranking wrestlers later in the tournament.

There are also arguments to be made for the title hopes of men like Abi, Daieisho, and Atamifuji among others. Onosato may be headlining the rise of new talent, but until he shows he can fully assert dominance over the rest of the field, the race for the Emperor’s Cup remains wide open. There have been so many surprise champions in recent years that very few wrestlers can be discounted entirely.

One year ago, Hokutofuji, coming off four straight tournaments with losing records, made an unlikely title charge, only missing out on silverware in a playoff loss to Hoshoryu.

The veteran returned to form with losing records in four of the five subsequent tournaments.

Nagoya with its brutal July heat and humidity hosts a tournament where the strange is often commonplace.

Onosato has the inside track heading into the last ever meet at Dolphins Arena, but the challenges could come from almost anywhere else in the division, and that could set up yet another unpredictable and exciting race for the title.