Three Mongolians in the Race for Crown

{mosimage}WITH two-thirds of the basho over, three Mongolians are leading the chase for the Emperor’s Cup in the first tournament of the new year. On present form, it is anybody’s to win in this fiercely contested tournament. Asashoryu, Hakuho and Kyokutenho are sharing the lead with a win:loss record of 9:1.

WITH two-thirds of the basho over, three Mongolians are leading the chase for the Emperor’s Cup in the first tournament of the new year. On present form, it is anybody’s to win in this fiercely contested tournament. Asashoryu, Hakuho and Kyokutenho are sharing the lead with a win:loss record of 9:1.

Though Asashoryu had fought back like a wounded tiger, winning all his bouts in a row, and convincingly so, following his early and unexpected loss, it was Hakuho, the other Yokozuna, who was the only unbeaten wrestler after the ninth day. He met his nemesis on the tenth.

That day he faced fellow Mongolian sekiwake Ama, a somewhat inconsistent performer in the ring who can prove to be anybody’s match on a given day. This was one of those days for him. Right after the face off he ignored Hakuho’s efforts to push him to the edge, got his hands on Hakuho’s belt and threw him down. The junior Yokozuna could only look up in disbelief.

He was also disappointed and angry, for the defeat meant the end of an enviable record. Before this Hakuho had never led a tournament with a loss before the end of the 10th day. This was his chance to prove that he could be unbeaten after 2/3rds of the tournament were over. Another significant thing was that this was the third successive bout between them that Ama had won. Yokozunas are not expected to have bogeymen.
The Mongolian sekiwake was rightfully the hero of the day and this victory would surely bring him a step closer to regaining the ozeki title, the second highest in sumo. In this basho he has so far defeated three ozekis and one yokozuna. Some specialists who support Ama’s promotion also want the authorities to look beyond the simple win:loss statistics, which is 6:4 here. They point to the quality of the bouts, the control that Ama has been showing in getting better of those ranked higher.

Ama is keeping his mouth shut. After the bout against Hakuho some Japanese journalists asked him about his chances of promotion. He politely but firmly said he was focused on the current basho and did not wish to be distracted by future expectations.
Hakuho’s defeat made Asashoryu catch up with him. He made no mistake with his chance. Facing maegashira #4 Wakanosato, Asashoryu gave a mighty push to his opponent that gave Wakanosato no chance to be on his feet or to be inside the ring.

But the two yokozunas are not the only wrestlers to lead the tournament. Quite surprisingly, the one who is sharing the lead with them is their usually unfancied Mongolian compatriot, the 34-year-old veteran Kyokutenho who is ranked at maegashira #10. Only a few people noticed that he was sharing the lead with the two who hog the limelight, but he has been quietly winning his bouts without much fanfare.

On this 10th day of the tournament Kyokutenho faced maegashira #15 Tochiozan. Right after the face off Tochiozan kept pushing the Mongolian wrestler to the edge but he resisted well and convincingly. Once it seemed Tochiozan’s powerful strike would find its aim but Kyokutenho managed to stay in and on his feet. On something of a rebound he suddenly took a lunge and pushed the surprised Tochiozan out to score another victory. In the day’s other major bouts maegashira #4 Asasekiryu faced ozeki Kotooshu who faces demotion if he does not make his 50 percent. The ozeki pushed Asasekiryu out of the ring giving absolutely no chance to him to launch a counter attack. The Mongolian former sekiwake was near the lead until this day but his third loss has surely taken him out of the running. But he is just one short of achieving a 50 percent victory tally.

Asasekiryu has 7 wins so far against 3 losses and is looking forward to regaining his sekiwake title. Maegashira #8 ranked Kakuryu won against his opponent maegashira #7 Takekaze and secured his eighth win of the basho. He is now only one step behind the tournament leaders with eight wins and two losses. Top maegashira Tokitenku managed to win the bout against komusubi Dejima. Right after the face off Tokitenku dodged Dejima’s attack and threw him to the ground.

Ama has won 6 bouts and lost 4. Tokitenku has an even result of 5:5 and if he does well in the remaining days there is a chance for him to regain his komusubi title.