Tag: Japanese

Wooo hoo, what a day! Upset after upset, shock after shock! Yesterday was boring so I didn’t bother to report it.

First, Harumafuji got his kachikoshi against Baruto, improving to 8-3 while Baruto dropped to 7-4. All Baruto has to do to maintain a winning record is to win once more so I think he’ll be fine.

Then…Chiyotaikai! I swear, that wily old goat just came into this tournament to ruin everyone’s stuff. First Asashoryu, then today he dropped Kotooshu in a shocking move, sending him sprawling face first into the dirt. All well and good, 10-1 for Kotooshu doesn’t take him out of the running, and 6-5 for Chiyotaikai isn’t half bad.

But the surprises just kept on coming: another slippery veteran, Kaio, dodged Asashoryu’s advance, gave him a swift push and sent him running out of the ring like a bull. Cue a few cushions thrown into the ring, but nobody expects much from Asashoryu any more so the crowd didn’t get very worked up.

Next match, last match of the day…SHOCKER: Kotomitsuki powers Hakuho out of the ring! It was obviously a hard-fought match, but he did it! A rain, a downpour of purple pillows! Yes! Yes! Sorry, it’s good to see Hakuho lose sometimes, and this throws the whole tournament wide open! It’s anybody’s game now, with Hakuho, Kotomitsuki and Kotooshu all at 10-1. The match-offs between these guys in the next few days will show who wears the crown. In the end, there can be only one!

A very exciting day, all told. I missed days 7 and 8 over the weekend so it was a shock to me to realize Aasashoryu had lost once on Sunday. And then he lost again to Chiyotaikai (of all people!), cue the audience tossing their cushions into the ring. Asa 7-2, Chiyotaikai 5-4. It pains me to note that this tournament is one of Chiyotaikai’s best performances in recent years. He really needs to retire.

And then Kotomitsuki beat Harumafuji with a quick overarm toss. That makes Koto 8-1 and Haru 6-3. 6-3 is bad, he’s out of the running. On the other hand, Kotooshu had a thrilling match with veteran Kaio, stalled in the middle of the ring for almost three minutes. Kotooshu nearly ran himself out of the ring with his initial charge, but once he got his hand on Kaio’s waistband the rest was a matter for the history books.

Kotooshu and Hakuho, both still at 9-0. Hakuho still looking the most dominant. If Kotooshu makes a false start against him like he did against Kaio today, it won’t be pretty. Still, as Asa proves, upsets are what make this sport exciting, so I’m looking forward to more ups and down in the last week of the tournament!

Nothing remarkable happened today, except hometown favorite Kotomitsuki lost to Kisenosato, dropping down to 5-1. Kisenosato’s at 5-1 too. Kotooshu, Hakuho and Asashoryu won to stay at 6-0, but Hakuho is still looking the best out of the three. Unless he gets sloppy or someone gets lucky, he’s probably going to win this one. It might be too early to call, but he’s looking really good right now. But for the record I’m supporting Asashoryu! I always like flashy sportsmen.

Alas, poor Harumafuji is almost certainly out of the running after today’s loss to Aran. To Aran, of all people (no offence to all the fine Aran fans out there). It was a funny match to watch, the way Harumafuji just dove out of the ring like a ballistic missile due to a fine sidestep by Aran. Textbook classic, well done Aran.

That leaves those in the running for championship at four: Kotomitsuki, Kotooshu, Hakuho and Asashoryu. Kotooshu and Hakuho are looking pretty strong, especially Hakuho. Hmm, well, we’ll see how things turn out.

By which point you must be wondering whether my posts for the next two weeks are all going to be about sumo. The answer is Yes. Sumo bashos only happen a few times a year, so I make sure to enjoy them as much as possible for as long as possible.

So far so good. Harumafuji won a tough battle today to stay in the running. Kotooshu and Kotomitsuki, stable mates, are both going strong at 4-0 each. I’m expecting good things from both of them this time round, none of the previous mediocre performances. Hakuho survived an early scare to win against …who was it? Ah crap, I forgot. But Asashoryu beat Tochiozan almost entirely by luck, making it both yokozunas and the two I mentioned before at 4-0. Who will be left standing at the end of the day?