5 posts tagged “aran”
Yes, folks, it's almost time for the next Sumo tournament. It starts this Sunday in Nagoya. Here's what you need to know:
Harumafuji won in Tokyo in May, his first championship ever. If he could manage to win a 2nd straight tournament, he would probably be promoted to Yokozuna. He looked great in May, beating both Yokozunas, but I doubt he can do it again.
Hakuho has to be the favorite again. He tied Harumafuji last time and only lost in the playoff. He's been taking it very slow, pacing himself in his preparations for this tournament, and I'm sure he'll be ready by day 1.
Asashoryu will be back again, trying to hang on and compete with Hakuho. If he's healthy, he should have a chance.
All five Ozekis are back, and all five actually made winning records last tournament, so no one's even in danger of demotion. Safe to say, only Harumafuji has a chance to win it. The other four will be fighting for 9 wins.
Just below the Ozeki rank, there are two new Sekiwakes. Kisenosato almost made it into the playoff for the championship last tournament, so he got promoted back up to Sekiwake all the way from Maegashira #4. Kakuryu, the young Mongolian, got promoted to his highest rank yet after 9 wins last tournament.
Kotoshogiku was rewarded for his 10-win tournament, and finally made it back up to the top of the ranks (at Komusubi) for the first time since January of last year.
Other high-movers include the Russian Aran, at #1, his highest rank ever; Takamisakari, up to #4 from #12 last tournament; and Toyohibiki, up all the way to #2 from #12 last tournament.
Going the other direction? Some of my personal favorites. Baruto dropped from Sekiwake down to Maegashira #3 after his tough 4-11 tournament; and Futeno, down near the bottom at #13, after a 6-9 record.
For the first time since last July, there are 3 rookies making their first tournaments in the big leagues. Most impressive is Mokonami (cool name, isn't it?), who got promoted all the way up to Maegashira #7 after an 11-4 tournament at the top of the minors. That's the highest jump into the majors since 1999. Mokonami is yet another Mongolian wrestler, but not quite the whiz at Sumo most Mongolians seem to be. He took the 2nd longest of any foreigner to make it up to the majors.
Also arriving in the top division are two Japanese wrestlers, 24-year old Tosayutaka and 25-year old Wakakoyu. They're both at the very bottom of the Maegashira ranks, so they need winning records to stay up in the big leagues.
Finally, my alter-ego Kunitachi got bumped up from Makushita (the minor minor league) #57 to #47, after my 2nd straight 10-5 record in the Sumo pool. Still on pace to make the minors by next March!
The tournament was won on Saturday, but today Hakuho completed the perfect 15-0 tournament. Here's how everyone did:
Hakuho -- He wasn't in danger of losing even once the entire tournament, including today's bout with Asashoryu, and won his 10th championship (and 3rd at 15-0). Having just turned 24 years old, he's the 3rd youngest wrestler to 10 wins. (Takanohana beat him by almost a year, but he beat Asashoryu by 3 months.) Will he hang on long enough to match those guys in total wins? He seems very healthy, so it probably only depends on Asashoryu's ability to take some tournaments from him in the next couple years (because there doesn't seem to be a lot of other competition out there.)
Asashoryu -- That first loss seems to have completely brought him down, or else he just got tired and worn out, because he ended up losing 4 of his last 6 to finish at 11-4, in second place but way behind Hakuho. At least his latest injury seems to be behind him now and maybe he can put in some good practice and be strong for Tokyo in May.
Koto'oshu and Harumafuji -- Both finished 10-5, had a couple good wins a couple bad losses. Nothing special. Need to turn it up a notch to compete with the Yokozunas.
Kotomitsuki -- He eked out an 8-7 tournament, just enough to stave off demotion. Very mediocre. Makes you wonder how long he can hang around as a below-average Ozeki. (Based on Kaio and Chiyotaikai, probably a long, long time.)
Kaio -- Speaking of below-average Ozekis, Kaio started strong but faded fast, losing 6 of his last 8 to finish 8-7. Not a surprise, considering he's 36 years old. I've given up on calling for his retirement -- it looks like he's trying to hang on long enough to get the record for most tournaments ever (which I think he's scheduled to get if he survives all six tournaments this year.)
Chiyotaikai -- He just plain embarrassed himself this tournament. He finished 2-13, breaking the all-time record for worst tournament by an Ozeki. He's got no records to go for, except maybe most pathetic Ozeki ever, so maybe it's time for him to call it quits? Please?
Baruto -- He had a very poor tournament, but he did finish strong, taking 5 of his last 6, to eke out a winning 8-7 tournament. He'll stay at Sekiwake for another tournament, but will need to do a lot better if he wants a promotion to Ozeki some day.
Kisenosato -- Started poorly at 5-6 then finished that off with 4 losses in a row to go 5-10. That means a demotion all the way out of the 'sanyaku' top ranks.
Goeido -- Goeido will be taking Kisenosato's spot at Sekiwake, because he went 9-6 from the Komusubi spot just below Kisenosato.
Kakuryu -- The young Mongolian, another small wrestler (304 pounds) with speed and skill, went 10-5 at the top of the Maegashira ranks, winning his final 8 matches. He won his second Technique Prize. He'll be taking Goeido's spot at Komusubi next tournament.
Tochiozan -- Another young (just turned 22), small Mongolian with skill, Tochiozan faded at the end but won today to go 8-7 and held his own all tournament against the top-ranking wrestlers, so he'll move up near the sanyaku ranks in May.
Homasho -- He continued his march back up to toward the top of the rankings with his second straight 11-win tournament. He also won his second straight Fighting Spirit Prize (3rd of his career), and will move up a lot next tournament. He should be near the top of the Maegashira ranks in May, and will have to face the Ozekis and Yokozunas.
Takamisakari -- The super-popular wrestler found his level of competition, going 6-9 at Maegashira #7. In May, he'll drop down and face poorer competition he'll have a better chance against.
Futeno -- My favorite had two chances to win an eighth, but lost them both and ended up 7-8, so he'll be dropping lower himself.
Aran -- The young Russian suffered the first losing tournament of his career in January, but he followed it up this time with a 10-5 record in his third tournament in the majors. He's strong, but he needs a lot more skill to compete with the top wrestlers.
Shotenro -- The rookie won six in a row to get to 7 wins, but then lost his last three in an attempt to get a winning record. His 7-8 record will drop him down, but should be good enough to keep him in the majors for another tournament.
Yamamotoyama -- In his second tournament in the majors, the man-mountain just barely got a second winning record, at 8-7. He's making a very slow march up the rankings in the majors, which is fitting, because at 550 pounds, the guy is not fast.
Toyohibiki -- The former-major leaguer won the championship in the minors (his second) with a 12-3 record and will be back in the majors in May.
Kunitachi -- I went 10-5 in my first tournament in the Sumo pool, correctly picking 98 winners in 15 days (65.3%). Hopefully, I'll move up a bunch from my opening ranking at Makushita (2nd minors) #64. My goal is to make the majors in the Sumo pool by 2011.
The Summer Sumo Tournament starts May 10 in Tokyo...
That's right. Time to quickly switch from presidential election mode, to Sumo tournament mode. The year-end Kyushu tournament starts tomorrow.
There aren't a whole lot of interesting storylines to this tournament. Asashoryu is skipping the tournament with an injury, that they're saying now may even keep him out of January's tournament, so I expect Hakuho will win his 3rd straight. He's already wrapped up the most match wins for the year, so there's no excitement there.
Really, the only excitement of the tournament should be Ama's run at an Ozeki promotion. 10 wins or more this tournament should be enough for him to get promoted, and I expect him to be able to do that pretty easily. He's already approaching Kotomitsuki's records for longest time at Sekiwake and in the top 3 ranks without being promoted, so it's his time, I think. He's gone 12-3 and 10-5 in the last 2 tournaments.
All the Ozeki's should be back, and (shockingly) for the 2nd straight tournament, none of them is facing demotion due to a bad tournament last time out. Kaio hurt himself in practice before the tournament, but seems well enough to compete.
Baruto got promoted to Sekiwake (Ama's rank, 3rd highest in Sumo) -- his highest ever. He just barely eked out an 8-7 last tournament. Should be interesting to see if he can put together something a little stronger and maybe get double digit wins this time.
Goeido got promoted to Komusubi, the rank just below Sekiwake, (his highest ever), which gives him the official title of Great Japanese Hope. Another Japanese wrestler of interest is Futeno, who was promoted to Maegashira #1 (just below Goeido) after an 11-4 tournament in September.
There are 2 rookies this tournament from opposite sides of the age scale. First is Bushuyama, who, at 32 years 5 months, is the 4th oldest rookie Sumo wrestler ever. Nice story, but I don't give him much chance to move up the ranks.
On the other end is Aran, a 24-year old Russian wrestler, who has made one of the fastest rises up the ranks in Sumo history. He tied Koto'oshu for fewest tournaments to reach the top level, 1 tournament faster than Asashoryu, Baruto, and Konishiki, among others. He spent only 2 tournaments in the Juryo minor leagues, and he hasn't had a single losing record in his career. If he stays away from marijuana, he may have a bright future in Sumo.
Yawn. Another tournament ends with another Hakuho celebration. Hakuho actually won the tournament on day 14, when Ama and Kotomitsuki both lost and he beat Koto'oshu in a tough match. He then beat Kotomitsuki on the last day to finish 14-1. Hakuho won his 8th championship. He also locked up the most wins of the year already, with 65 wins in his first 75 matches this year. (Ama is 2nd with 47 wins, so even if he goes 15-0 in November, he can't catch Hakuho.) It seems like we've gone from Sumo being completely dominated by Asashoryu to now being completely dominated by Hakuho.
Ama finished this tournament as the runner-up at 12-3 and won the Outstanding Performance Award for beating all 4 Ozeki's and Yokozuna Asashoryu. Looks like it wasn't enough to get promoted to Ozeki this time, but he probably only needs 10 wins in November to get a promotion. Very impressive, considering at 284 pounds, he's one of the smallest wrestlers in the pro's.
The 4 Ozeki's miraculously all finished with winning records for a 2nd straight tournament. Kotomitsuki did the best at 11-4, while Kaio and Chiyotaikai had decent (for them) records of 9-6. Koto'oshu barely escaped with a winning 8-7 record after beating Chiyotaikai on the last day.
Baruto, just as I expected, did a lot better after he had finished with the tough part of his schedule. He stumbled to a 2-7 opening, but then reeled off 6 straight wins to eke out a winning record at 8-7. With Toyonoshima giving a weak 6-9 performance in his first tournament as Sekiwake, look for Baruto to replace him and join Ama at Sekiwake in November.
Goeido won the Fighting Spirit prize after being in the race for the tournament for a long time, then ending up with a 10-5 record. Look for him to move up to Baruto's Komusubi rank, which would be Goeido's first tournament in the top ranks.
Futeno finished 11-4 and got a little bit screwed by not being given an award for his tournament. He was considered for the Technique Prize, but fell short in voting, and the decided not to give a Technique Prize out this tournament. Even worse, there was a special news report at the moment Futeno won his 8th match of the tournament, and so I didn't get to hear the Kevin McHale of Sumo interviewed for getting his winning record. Maybe next tournament, when he moves much higher up the rankings, he'll beat an Ozeki or a Yokozuna and get interviewed for that.
The ever-popular Takamisakari finished 6-9 ranked at Maegashira #11, only 5 ranks higher than the minor leagues, so he will be on the edge of demotion to the minors for next tournament. Could depend on how many of the minor leaguers they decide to promote to the majors.
In the minor leagues, Yamamotoyama, the 550-pounder, faded at the end (probably not used to moving all that weight for so many days -- below his division, the wrestlers only fight 7 matches per tournament) to finish 9-6. Meanwhile, 24-year old Russian wrestler Aran won the tournament at 12-3 in just his 2nd tournament in the top minor league division. If he can stay away from the wacky weed (a real temptation for those Russians, as we know), he should be able to take his place as the hairiest wrestler in the majors in November.
And in the double-A division, Makushita, the tournament winner at 7-0 was a guy named Yotsuguruma, whose name, if I'm reading it correctly, means "4 Cars". I hope he likes his name more than Arthur "2 Sheds" Jackson did. Incidentally, a search reveals multiple bands called 2 Sheds Jackson. How great is that?
And for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, here is the clip...
The tournament is basically over. Hakuho beat Ama yesterday and Chiyotaikai today to go to 12-0 and take a 3 match lead with just 3 days to go. He just needs to beat Kaio, Kotomitsuki, or Koto'oshu in the next 3 days to win the tournament -- his 7th and first since January. Only question now is if he can go 15-0. (I think he will.)
Ama came back with a win today over Koto'oshu to assure another winning record at the 3rd-highest rank of Sekiwake.
All the Ozekis have 8 wins now, too, so amazingly no Ozeki will be in danger of demotion when the next tournament starts in September.
Baruto beat Takamisakari today and is 8-2 now since day 3, to get himself a winning record.
Among the rookies, Masatsukasa was the first to get 8 wins and insure he stays in the top division.
And in the minor leagues, 24-year old rookie Aran (from Russia) is tied for the lead at 9-3. Maybe the next great European hope?
12-0: Hakuho
9-3: Kotomitsuki, Toyohibiki
8-4: Koto'oshu, Chiyotaikai, Kaio, Ama, Toyonoshima, Asasekiryu (8-match win streak), Baruto, Masatsukasa
5-7: Takamisakari
3-3-7: Asashoryu
2-10: Futeno
Match of the day tomorrow: Hakuho (12-0) vs. Kaio (8-4)
