Will we start to see some more make-koshi? Will Takakeisho make
kachi-koshi? Lets find out!
Hakuyozan visits from Juryo today. Chiyotairyu soon walked him out.
Kotoeko faced Akua. Lots of shuffling, side leaps and what not but
Ishiura failed to really engage. Akua won by pulling Kotoeko to the
ground.
Tamawashi faced Chiyomaru and lost! They have faced each other 5 times
before and Tamawashi won all of them. Tamawashi made a mistake in his
position, lost his balance and Chiyomaru spotted an opening. A nice
surprise of an outcome.
It is odd seeing Tamawashi and Endo in the first 6 or so bouts. I am
used to them being much higher up the banzuke.
Endo had a low effort win against Keisei. They engaged and Keisei sort
of fell over. Poor Keisei.
Tsurugisho faced Terutsuyoshi. It was one of those where one is double
the size of the other. Tsurugisho tried walking Terutsuyoshi out but
the tiny salt chucker clinged on. A sneaky lifting of Tsurugisho's leg
lead to a topple and a win for Terutsuyoshi.
Myogiru walked Tochinoshin out thanks to seemingly pushing on his bad
knee. Tochinoshin did not look happy after.
Aoiyama has returned from kyujo. He is make-koshi but destroyed
Kiribayama. They engaged and he just slapped him down. This was the
most lively I have seen Aoiyama for some time. Hopefully he can avoid
a significant drop down the banzuke.
Meisei took on the Tobizaru challenge. Slaps galore with a weird
flailing Tobizaru. He did not leave the dohyo so no points for Meisei.
He got the win though and Tobizaru is make-koshi.
Mitakeumi faced Wakatakakage. A henka and Wakatakakage was left doing
the splits and wondering what happened.
The main bout today. Takayasu against Terunofuji. Can papa bear stop
the bionic man? Takayasu was on the offence most of the match but
seemed to slip up last minute. Terunofuji pulled Takayasu down while
stepping out. Gyoji says Terunofuji won. A mono-ii agreed. Terunofuji
looked like he was hanging out of his arse and Takayasu was going to
upset things. Nope. Skill and movement got the win.
Horshoryu dropped Shodai with surprising ease. Shodai lost when
Horshoryu got the belt and it was a case of walking out the ring. Not
bad for a first meeting for the pair.
Daieisho prevented Takakeisho from making kachi-koshi today. They
engaged hard, tried some nice side stepping but Takakeisho ended up on
the straw and a small shove was all Daieisho needed.
Onosho tried hard against Asanoyama. Some great pushing which turned
into feet sliding, trying to find some grip. Asanoyama got the win
after swinging Onosho around and out. A damn fine bout for an Ozeki.
So we still only have 1 kachi-koshi, the undefeated Terunofuji.
Following on are 5 with 2 losses - Takakeisho, Mitakeumi, Ichinojo,
Endo and Chiyotairyu. There are some surprises there for sure.
Make-koshi has been claimed by 7 rikishi. Poor Tobizaru. He does seem
to vary significantly between basho. 3 are at risk tomorrow -
Kiribayama, Tochinoshin and Tsurugisho.
