Hoshoryu dominates rivals in practice, but real test awaits at May Basho

Japan Times

09-05-2025

One of sumo's most reliable truisms is that 'results in training mean nothing.'
For every wrestler who has carried impressive pre-basho form into a tournament, there is another whose wins in practice turned out to be little more than a mirage.
Make no mistake — Japan's national sport has perhaps the most violent and intense training sessions of any athletic endeavor, but it's also a sport where practice results are unreliable if taken as a predictor of future success.
There are numerous reasons why that is the case, including wrestlers working exclusively on particular techniques, lacking sufficient rest from previous practices or not going full speed in order to protect injured body parts.
With that in mind, it would be wise for fans of Hoshoryu to not get too carried away with the yokozuna's recent dominance against high-ranked opponents.
At the Yokozuna Deliberation Council (YDC) open practice held at the Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 2, Hoshoryu overwhelmed the ozeki duo of Onosato and Kotozakura, and he has looked sharp and strong in almost all other training sessions over the past week or so.
It's a positive sign for sumo's newest yokozuna as he attempts a comeback from an injury that forced him out of his debut tournament at that rank but doesn't necessarily portend a title run in the summer meet.
Despite his elevated rank, the young Mongolian-born wrestler is still developing, and he can't automatically be assumed to be in the championship race each and every meet in the way his compatriots Hakuho or Asashoryu once were.
Hoshoryu, who turns 26 during the upcoming tournament, may have already reached the top of the sumo pyramid but has still won fewer championships than Onosato (or even Mitakeumi) and has yet to score more than 13 wins in any single tournament.
Whether he has completely recovered and is back to full fitness won't be apparent until the May Basho gets underway.
Even so, it was hard not to be impressed with the way Hoshoryu went about his business at the soken.
The young yokozuna not only beat Onosato and Kotozakura, he did so in a fashion that left no doubts about who sumo's top wrestler is at this point.
It may be just a trick that his elevated rank plays on the mind, but Hoshoryu has looked significantly bigger and more imposing since becoming a yokozuna.
With Onosato seemingly on track to also reach the top rank, the prospect of two young, physically commanding yokozuna atop the rankings is a mouth-watering one for sumo fans.
Speaking of Onosato, given that the ozeki was sick and skipped training ahead of the YDC practice, it's understandable that he looked out of sorts against Hoshoryu during the event.
However, according to reports, the March tournament winner looked much better later in the week.
With promotion to yokozuna at stake at the upcoming meet, it's inarguably the most important tournament of the Nippon Sport Science University graduate's life.
Given the way he has handled pressure, both as an amateur and at every stage of his professional career, the odds of Onosato rising to the occasion once again are good.
Any objective analysis of sumo's current situation would have to conclude that Onosato is the favorite to win the May tournament, even if Hoshoryu is back to full strength.
The giant ozeki hasn't completely abandoned his bad habit of pulling when the forward momentum of his initial attack is halted. He may not lose as often when that happens, but it remains a weak point that accomplished opponents can exploit.
One of those opponents is Kotozakura, who has split his eight career bouts with Onosato.
The grandson of a yokozuna with the same name, Kotozakura entered 2025 on a high but has fallen out of the limelight somewhat after consecutive poor tournaments.
The 14-1 record that the Sadogatake stable man posted in November makes him the only active rikishi who knows what it's like to get more than 13 wins in the top division, and the ability to reach such heights means he has to be considered a title contender even if recent results haven't gone his way.
Kotozakura has looked sharper in recent training sessions, and it can only be good for the sport if the ozeki provides a challenge to the top two.
While there may be a gap between Kotozakura and the two men above him, it's also true there is a bigger gap between the ozeki and everyone below him.
Daiesho, Kirishima, Wakatakakage and Takayasu in the lower sanyaku (sekiwake and komusubi) ranks are experienced and accomplished — all but Takayasu have won the Emperor's Cup — but it's hard to see any of them becoming (or returning to) ozeki in the future, and even a championship run isn't something that can be predicted with any confidence.
Which isn't to say that sumo's biggest prize is inevitably destined to be claimed by a yokozuna or ozeki in May.
With Hakuoho and Aonishiki positioned at maegashira Nos. 7 and 9, respectively, it's entirely conceivable that one of sumo's impressive young rising talents could win a first title.
Hakuoho's efforts over the past six months seem to have gone mostly unnoticed. That's somewhat understandable as he almost broke a century-old record in 2023 as a teenage top-division debutant and then immediately dropped out of sight for an extended period due to an injury.
The severity (and long-term nature) of his shoulder problems led many to write him off as a potential future ozeki or title winner, but Hakuoho has had winning records in seven of eight tournaments since returning and has more than held his own in makuuchi this year.
If he can avoid some of the soft early tournament losses, then anything is possible.
Aonishiki (left) won 11 of his final 13 bouts to claim a special prize in March. |
JIJI
Aonishiki continues his unlikely rise up the rankings, with the young Ukrainian in March once again defying those who claim his lack of size limits his ceiling.
After a rocky start, Aonishiki won 11 of his final 13 bouts to claim a special prize and displayed powerful forward-moving sumo from start to finish.
With that aggressive approach, the 21-year-old is certain to be a fan favorite as he edges closer to sumo's limelight.
As with Hakuoho, a banzuke position for May that should avoid most of sumo's top rankers figures to be a boost, and Aonishiki could conceivably give Ukraine a first-ever title later this month.
As the summer meet approaches, it's looking like the top wrestlers will exert their control, but a challenge from lower down is a distinct possibility.