Ten days into the ongoing Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament and Ichiyamamoto — a 31-year-old journeyman who hasn’t posted more than 8 wins in a basho since 2023 — stunningly led the race for the Emperor’s Cup going into Wednesday's bouts.
Coming off back-to-back losing records — with the most recent being a 5-10 outing in May — no one could have predicted such a hot start for the Chuo University graduate.
The big question, of course, is whether or not Ichiyamamoto can keep his title charge going over the meet’s final third, and become the 12th first-time champion to be crowned since January 2020.
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