Sumo: Long-time foe Oho sends yokozuna Hoshoryu down to 1st defeat
KYODO NEWS - 2 hours ago - 21:28 | Sports, All, Japan
No. 1 maegashira Oho handed his long-time rival and yokozuna Hoshoryu his first defeat at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday as promotion-chasing ozeki Onosato maintained his perfect record after three days of action.
Oho (3-0), the grandson of former iconic yokozuna Taiho, produced powerful shoves to unnerve Hoshoryu (2-1) before timing his slap down perfectly to send a desperate grand champion to the sandy surface at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Mongolian-born Hoshoryu, the nephew of former yokozuna Asashoryu, made his professional sumo debut alongside Oho in January 2018 and now trails his rival 4-3 in their head-to-head record in the elite makuuchi division.
"I think my first, second movements after the opening clash were really good," said Oho, who settled for a 6-9 record as a sekiwake at the Spring meet in March on his debut at the three "sanyaku" ranks below yokozuna.
March champion Onosato (3-0) quickly found himself backing off to the edge following a ruthless right-handed push to his throat by No. 2 maegashira Abi (0-3). But the ozeki stood his ground and turned the rank-and-filer sideways before pushing him out from the back.
After just about retaining his ozeki rank in March by avoiding a second straight losing record, Kotozakura (1-2) is enduring another difficult start after getting forced out by komusubi Wakatakakage (2-1).
Sekiwake Daieisho (3-0), who won his only Emperor's Cup back in January 2021, thrust down No. 1 maegashira Wakamotoharu (0-3) at the edge to continue his perfect start.
Deieisho could earn an unlikely promotion to ozeki should he win 13 bouts this month and reach the usual required standard of 33 wins over three straight meets fighting either as sekiwake or komusubi.
No. 4 maegashira Takerufuji, the top-division winner in March 2024, also stayed unbeaten, joined by promising No. 7 maegashira Hakuoho, No. 11 maegashira Endo and No. 16 maegashira Nishikigi.
Related coverage:
Sumo: Lone yokozuna Hoshoryu cruises to 2nd win against Wakamotoharu
Sumo: Hoshoryu makes winning start by pushing out Wakatakakage
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