Hakuho Does His Homework Well

{mosimage}During Asashoryu’s absence Hakuho did a good job and did not lose the Emperor’s Cup to the Japanese. So all six tournaments organized throughout the year were won by the Mongolians. The November sumo tournament gave Hakuho, whose Mongolian name is M.Davaajargal, his second emperor’s cup as a sumo champion, but this is his fifth career title.

During Asashoryu’s absence Hakuho did a good job and did not lose the Emperor’s Cup to the Japanese. So all six tournaments organized throughout the year were won by the Mongolians. The November sumo tournament gave Hakuho, whose Mongolian name is M.Davaajargal, his second emperor’s cup as a sumo champion, but this is his fifth career title. This time it was not really hard for him to win the tournament because ozeki Chiyotaikai who was sharing the lead of the basho withdrew on the 14th day of the 15 day long competition due to injuries. So it became clear that Hakuho, the second Mongolian yokozuna (sumo champion) would win this Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament. But with the Emperor’s Cup already in the pocket, Hakuho lost to ozeki Kotomitsuki in the final bout of the year. In that final bout ozeki Kotomitsuki got an underhanded grip of his belt and threw him to the ground. Losing the final bout, Hakuho, the 22 year old Mongolian ended the tournament with a 12:3 record. It has been 8 years since a yokozuna won the tournament with such a low performance. It’s clear that the authorities of the Japan Sumo Association and the Yokozuna Deliberation Council are awaiting a far better performance during the next bashos as a yokozuna. During an almost traditional morning press conference after the tournament, Hakuho commented, “A yusho is a yusho (yusho= winning a sumo tournament). I want to eliminate my small mistakes. I wasn’t sure how things would turn out after that day 1 loss, but I was able to settle down after that and hang in there to the end.”

After winning the Emperor’s Cup for five times Hakuho said to the press “I lost on the first day and I didn’t know what would happen after that, but I had a lot of warm support from my family and the fans. This was the last meet of the year, so I really wanted to win the title.”

The Mongolian yokozuna was often criticized by the specialists as he lost to Kotoshogiku on the first day, another loss to fellow Mongolian komusubi Ama on the eighth day, and his final defeat to ozeki Kotomitsuki on the last day of the tournament. The Japanese specialists are saying that Hakuho is not showing the yokozuna ideal wrestling style. The same mistakes he made during the November tournament could cost him a lot next time, during the New Year tournament in January, because yokozuna Asashoryu will be back in the ring after a two tournament suspension which ended on Sunday. When asked about Asashoryu’s return, Hakuho said, “I will do my best to compete as a yokozuna starting from the New Year meet.”

Despite being heavily criticized from the specialists it has been a fantastic year for Hakuho both in career and private life. He won four tournaments out of six (Asashoryu the other Mongolian sumo champion won the two titles) this year and was promoted to the highest rank in the sumo world. In his private life, he married a Japanese woman and she gave birth to his first child.

Asasekiryu (B.Dashnyam), who is ranked as a sekiwake, made a disappointing result of wins and 12 losses. It is now certain that he will be demoted, but it is unclear if he can wrestle next time as a komusubi. He did very badly this time and there is also a chance that he will be further demoted to the maegashira ranking. His performance is not outstanding this time and leg injuries may have influenced his performance. After the bout against Hakuho on the eleventh day, he seemed to be very disappointed with his performance. “I can’t seem to stop this losing strike”, he said after the bout, and despite his efforts it was a very bad basho for him.

Komusubi Ama (D.Byambadorj) ended the basho with 10 wins and 5 losses. This agreeable result would certainly promote him next time to a sekiwake. He did well during the last days of the tournament. Ama himself did not seem to be very happy with his results. During a speech after the tournament he said: “Double digits were my goal, but I had chances for more wins.” Specialists are somehow satisfied with his results as they noted that if he continues like this the door to a promotion to the second highest sumo ranking is wide open. Ama also noted that he is looking forward to give his best. But a promotion to an ozeki is not as easy as it seems. Ama who won Hakuho on the eighth day of the tournament was awarded the Outstanding Performance Prize for the second time in his sumo career.

East maegashira #3 Kakuryu (M.Anand) also did not do well this time. He finished the tournament with only 4 wins and 11 losses. He is one of the Mongolian wrestlers who recently entered the elite division. He managed to do well in the recent tournaments. He ranked at maegashira #2 last time, which is his best performance so far. Now it is also certain that he will be demoted. His Mongolian and Japanese fans are hoping that he will do well next time.

However, the same ranked wrestler, Tokitenku (A.Khuchitbaatar) did better this time and ended the tournament with 9 wins and 6 losses. This achievement may put him up to the komusubi title of which he lost last time. At the recent basho, Tokitenku was more experienced and used the right tactics against his opponents. He managed to win over several ozekis and other highly ranked wrestlers. This certainly gained attention from the authorities. For example on the tenth day of the tournament he faced ozeki Chiyotaikai, who was the sole leader of the tournament. After the face off, Tokitenku immediately dodged Chiyotaikai’s attacks and sent him to the dirt, together with his hopes to win the tournament. This exciting bout certainly helped countryman Hakuho to regain self-confidence. Tokitenku also won ozeki Kaio who is the oldest, but not the weakest ozeki. This bout was also one of the top bouts of the day. Despite some problems in the stable he did quite well this time.

The lowest ranking wrestler in the sumo elite division is Kyokutenho who is a Mongolian but a Japanese national. He ranked relatively high (maegashira #4) but all the other Mongolians ranked higher than him. Unfortunately he also faced a hard time and ended the tournament with only 4 wins. The 34 year old wrestler is looking forward to do better next time in lower ranking.

We reported about the Mongolian wrestler who was demoted to a lower division due to insufficient results in the elite division. Despite ranking in a lower division, Ryuo won 8 times and that is not enough to go to the elite division. So it is clear that we will not see Ryuo during the New Year tournament.

The UB Post
Written by G.Ganbayar