29 posts tagged “kotomitsuki”
It all came down to the last match between Hakuho and Asashoryu and the fans got a good one:
With that win, Hakuho nailed down the championship, the 11th of his career. That puts him in a tie for 9th all-time with Akebono (but still more than 10 titles behind Asashoryu, who's in 4th). Hakuho finished 14-1 with only a day 11 loss to Kotomitsuki. It's his 2nd tournament win this year and ran his record for the year to an amazing 57-3 (with a very real chance of breaking Asashoryu's record of 84 wins in a year.)
Tournament Winners:
Koto'oshu - 13-2 -- An impressive tournament for Koto'oshu just missed a playoff by 1 win. He beat everyone he had to (including Asashoryu on day 14 and Harumafuji, very easily, on day 15) except he couldn't beat Hakuho. Still, it's nice to see he can compete every so often.
Kotomitsuki - 12-3 -- Kotomitsuki beat all the other Ozekis (he doesn't face Koto'oshu because they're on the same team) and he was the only one to beat Hakuho, but he lost to Asashoryu and he lost one he should have won to Aminishiki, which took him out of contention. Hopefully, he can keep up the momentum, though. 3 competitive Ozekis would be great.
Kisenosato - 9-6 -- He faded at the end, losing 4 of his last 6, but he beat 3 Ozekis and he beat Asashoryu and finished with a good 9-6 record at the highest rank below Ozeki. He won't be pushing for Ozeki promotion in September, but maybe by early next year.
Baruto - 11-4 -- Baruto had been getting stronger and stronger and hanging in at Sekiwake up until last tournament, when he got hurt and stumbled to a 4-11 record, dropping him to Maegashira #3 for this tournament. All he did was take advantage of the weaker competition and march to an 11-4 record (though he did lose to all three Ozekis he faced). He should move back up to the top ranks, probably Komusubi, though possibly even back to his old rank in September.
Aminishiki - 11-4 -- Aminishiki had a great tournament in the middle of the Maegashira ranks, going 11-4 and winning the Technique Prize (for the 4th time). He'll move up to the top of the Maegashira in September and have to face all the Ozekis and Yokozunas.
Shotenro - 11-4 -- Shotenro is a young Mongolian wrestler who was fighting in the 3rd division a year ago, but quickly moved his way up and through the minors. This was his 3rd tournament in the bigs, and he got his form back, winning 11 and earning the Fighting Spirit Prize. He's got good skill and good size (339 pounds) and should be able to hang with the tougher competition as he moves up next tournament.
Tosayutaka - 8-7 -- Tosayutaka was the only rookie who got a winning record. Mokonami went 6-9, but he was way up the rankings, so he should stay in the majors, but Wakakoyu will drop back to the minors.
Homasho - 10-5 -- Once again, Homasho drops to the bottom of the rankings and comes up big to move back up (where he will probably fail again and head back down).
Wakanosato - 14-1 -- Wakanosato dropped down to the minors after last tournament, but not for very long, going 14-1 and winning the Juryo division championship. He'll be back to the majors in September.
Kunitachi - 9-6 -- I just missed my 10th win today, losing 8-to-7. I had a pretty mediocre tournament, only averaging 6.4 right each day in an easy tournament, but still got 9 wins and should move up decently in September. My goal of reaching Juryo by next March may be in danger, though.
Tournament Losers
Asashoryu - 10-5 -- Five losses is not very good for Asashoryu (especially after starting 7-0) and losing to both Kaio and Chiyotaikai is inexcusable. He put up a good fight against Hakuho on the last day, but it doesn't look like he'll be competing with him for tournaments very often in the future. Still, he only needs 1 more to tie for 3rd most all time, and he should be able to get one in the next 4 or 5 tournaments.
Kaio and Chiyotaikai - 8-7 -- Sigh. Another mediocre tournament for both of them again, but just enough to get a winning record and keep their Ozeki ranks for a while longer.
Kakuryu - 5-10 -- Kakuryu was promoted to his highest rank yet, Sekiwake, and couldn't quite stand up to the competition there. He'll drop way down next tournament, and, if he's healthy, should do fine and make his way back.
Aran - 4-11 -- Not a good tournament for the young Russian, still in his first year in the majors. He was way up at Maegashira #1 and failed miserably against the top wrestlers. Chalk it up to a learning experience. He'll be back in a few tournaments.
Takamisakari - 6-9 -- Everyone's favorite looked like he had a chance to creep up to the higher ranks and the big competition, but instead he dropped 5 out of 6 to end the tournament and will go back down to the middle of the Maegashira, where he belongs.
Yamamotoyama - 4-7-4 -- The man-mountain was in the middle of a poor tournament when he had to drop out due to a knee injury. (Not surprising, considering he weighs 560 pounds and has to constantly squat.) He may hang on to the bottom of the majors, but if he isn't healthy in September, he'll be dropped to the minors.
Futeno - 6-9 -- My personal favorite won his first 3, then lost it completely. He was near the bottom of the rankings, so there's a good chance he'll be back in the minors in September (the good news being, maybe he'll win it all down there and I'll get to hear another interview).
That's all for now. The next tournament starts September 13 in Tokyo.
On day 12, Hakuho had a bigger fight than expected but beat Kaio, Koto'oshu didn't have too much trouble with Miyabiyama, and Asashoryu sent a message by beating the other contender Kotomitsuki.
11-1: Hakuho, Koto'oshu
10-2: Kotomitsuki
9-3: Aminishiki (lost one he should have won to drop out of contention)
So it comes down to tomorrow's match between Hakuho and Koto'oshu to see who goes to 12-1. (Actually, it doesn't totally, because then each of them has to face Asashoryu before the tournament ends, so neither can easily win out. Kotomitsuki could even get himself back into a tiebreaker by winning his last three -- 3-man playoff, anyone?)
Crazy day of upsets in Nagoya today.
The biggest of them all was this EPIC BATTLE between Hakuho (in brown) and Kotomitsuki (in blue):
That dropped Hakuho to 10-1 for the tournament.
That would have been a great opportunity for Koto'oshu, except he had already lost to Chiyotaikai.
The combination of those two would have been a great opportunity for Asashoryu, just as I had described in yesterday's post. If only he had beaten Kaio. But he didn't.
Put it all together and there's now a 3-way tie for the lead.
10-1: Hakuho, Kotomitsuki, Koto'oshu
9-2: Aminishiki (low-ranked wrestler who, believe it or not, actually has a chance of squeezing into a victory with the top 3 all fighting each other in the last 4 days)
8-3 (and basically out of it): Asashoryu, Harumafuji, Tochinoshin, Shotenro
Match of the day tomorrow: Kotomitsuki vs. Asashoryu (Hakuho and Koto'oshu get relatively easy matches vs. Kaio and Miyabiyam, respectively.)
It's getting hot in Nagoya, as witnessed by the multitude of fans being waved by the audience at the Sumo tournament. But Hakuho has kept his cool...
10-0:
Amazing stat of the day: Hakuho has won 95 of his last 100 matches! Unbelievable. He hasn't looked in danger this whole tournament. He still has to face Koto'oshu, Harumafuji and Asashoryu, but a 15-0 tournament looks likely. He faces another contender, Kotomitsuki, tomorrow in the big match of the day.
Koto'oshu hasn't looked as dominant, but he hasn't made a single mistake. In his first real test today, he beat Kisenosato to stay undefeated and pretty much knock Kisenosato out of the chase. He ought to beat Chiyotaikai tomorrow, but he still has to face Kotomitsuki, Harumafuji, and both Yokozunas.
9-1:
Kotomitsuki beat Harumafuji and Baruto in his last 2 matches, so he's shown he's for real this tournament. His only loss was to Kisenosato on Day 6. If he can pull off the upset of Hakuho tomorrow, he'll have a strong chance of reaching a playoff for the championship.
8-2:
Asashoryu went 7-0, then lost on consecutive days to Kisenosato (understandable) and Chiyotaikai (really pathetic). He is pretty much out of the race for the championship, but he could play spoiler with upcoming matches against Koto'oshu, Kotomitsuki, and Hakuho. (Actually, if Kotomitsuki beats Hakuho tomorrow, then Asashoryu would make a playoff at worst by winning out, but that's a stretch.)
Aminishiki is at Maegashira #5 and having a great tournament. He beat Baruto early, but hasn't faced any real competition.
Shotenro had big expectations when he reached the majors in March after winning 2 straight tournaments in the minors. He didn't do too much in his first 2 tournaments in the majors, but he's looking good this time and should move up nicely in September.
7-3:
I've won 5 straight matches in the Sumo pool and Kunitachi is now up to 7-3 (and 3 wins away from my 3rd straight double-digit win tournament).
Harumafuji lost to Kotomitsuki yesterday to drop to 3 losses, so he won't be making Yokozuna any time soon, but he could still figure in the championship race, with a big upset or two.
Kisenosato also dropped out of the race with his loss today to Koto'oshu, but he did beat 3 Ozekis and one Yokozuna in the tournament and should finish strong and place himself well for future Ozeki promtion consideration.
Baruto has proved that last tournament's poor record was due to an injury or just a fluke. Having dropped down to Maegashira #3, he's gotten right back to his usual strong tournament (though, definitely, poor competition has supported his record this time.) 2 of his 3 losses are the two matches against Ozekis he's had. He has another chance to prove his mettle with a match against Harumafuji tomorrow.
A strong tournament for the Georgian Tochinoshin, who, at 21, still has time to live up to great expectations.
5-5:
The two old, lame Ozekis, Kaio and Chiyotaikai, are struggling along with 5-5 records. Unfortunately, the closer they get to the end of the tournament and near 8 wins, the more likely they are to make deals with other wrestlers to throw matches so they can keep their Ozeki rankings. Yes, it's true -- Freakonomics was right.
Takamisakari started terribly, but has won 4 of 5 to even his record at 5-5. I'm sure everyone would love to see him with a winning record and a promotion that would mean matches against Yokozunas and Ozekis in September (even though he'd probably end up 5-10 or worse against that level of competition).
Tosayutaka is putting up the best tournament among the rookies, though at 5-5, that doesn't say much.
4-6:
The 550-pound man-mountain Yamamotoyama's looking about as weak as a 550-pound man-mountain can look.
My man Futeno won his first 3, but he's 1-6 since then. Sigh -- no interviews for him this tournament.
3-7:
Not a good tournament for Kakuryu in his highest ranking ever of Sekiwake. He'll lose 8 or more and drop out of the top ranks (to be replaced by Baruto, probably).
2-8:
Dejima is a 35-year old, one-time Ozeki who just doesn't have it anymore. This is looking like his last tournament, as he's already announced he'll retire, rather than accept a demotion to the minors. At Maegashira #13 (5 from the bottom of the majors), with 8 losses already, this looks pretty likely. Must admit, I will not miss Dejima. I wish some other aging Ozekis would follow his lead.
1-9:
Ouch. The young Russian Aran clearly wasn't ready to be so high in the rankings (Maegashira #1) and to face all the top wrestlers. He'll drop way down in September, but probably start working his way back and hopefully do better when he makes it back up here.
Finally, in the Juryo minor division, the leaders are Hokutoriki and Wakanosato at 9-1. They're both ex-major leaguers who've done badly and been dropped to the minors. In other words, boring...
It seems every 14 months like clockwork Koto'oshu competes for a championship. In May '08, he won his first 7 matches en route to his one and only trophy. Now he's got the 7-0 start again, and has even looked very good doing it (though he's faced a very easy schedule), so maybe he'll compete all the way to the end.
The two other leaders are familiar: Yokozunas Hakuho and Asashoryu. Of course. Hakuho continues to look unbeatable. He faced a true test today, facing off against the up-and-coming Sekiwake Kisenosato, and winning pretty easily. He has his record for 2009 up to 50-2 (not including 2 playoff losses) and they're already talking about the possibility of his breaking Asashoryu's record (84) for wins in 1 year. That would be truly amazing, considering he actually has some competition.
Asashoryu, meanwhile, seems to have steadied the early shakiness and is back to his typical style -- not looking dominant like Hakuho, but never really in danger of losing. Tomorrow, he'll be the one tested by facing Kisenosato, who's now 5-2 with losses to Harumafuji and Hakuho.
Contending at 6-1 are Kotomitsuki and Baruto. Kotomitsuki finally lost on day 6 to Kisenosato, but has looked very good in the rest of his matches and could pull off a couple upsets late. Baruto, who was a Sekiwake in his last few tournaments but must have been injured last tournament and dropped down, looks back to normal again. He's been winning with some serious strength, either grabbing his opponent's belt and picking him up or tossing him down, or just shoving him out of the ring with his giant wingspan. He's probably not up to contending with the Yokozunas yet, but he'll get a good record and head back up where he was before. We'll get a good idea tomorrow when he faces the 7-0 Koto'oshu.
Barely hanging in contention are Kisenosato and Yokozuna-wannabe Harumafuji, both 5-2. Harumafuji lost a 2nd match to Aran on Day 5, which pretty much ended his hopes of a Yokozuna promotion this time around, but he could hang around near the top and set himself up for another attempt at promotion after September's tournament. Kisenosato is setting himself up now for talk of promotion to Ozeki.
The two old Ozekis, Kaio and Chiyotaikai, are barely surviving so far at 4-3.
Takamisakari is weathering the storm at a high ranking (for him) and stands at 3-4 and might be able to eke out 8 wins (which would move him up to way out of his league). Man-mountain Yamamotoyama looked very bad, losing 3 of his first 4, but has found his strength again and won 3 in a row to reach 4-3.
The rookies aren't looking too good. Mokonami and Tosayutaka are 3-4, while Wakakoyu is 2-5. But Shotenro, who got promoted to the majors in March after just 2 tourneys in the Juryo division, is finally living up to expectations, at 5-2.
Meanwhile, in the Sumo pool, Kunitachi also struggled early, but has won 4 of 5 (3 by tiebreakers), to get back on the positive side at 4-3. I'm averaging 6.6 out of 10 right each day, my best tournament yet, but everyone else is doing better, too. I need to win 6 of the next 8 to keep my 10-win streak alive and keep hope alive for Juryo promotion by next March.
The Summer tournament starts in Tokyo this Sunday. Here's everything you need to know to be ready for it:
Hakuho won his 10th tournament in March, at 15-0. I think he's won 19 matches in a row going back to January's tournament. He is obviously the favorite to win again this time.
Asashoryu won in January and he won't just step aside and let Hakuho have the tournament. Although he faded in the last third of the March tournament, he should be strong again this time, and he's always liked the Tokyo tournaments, so look for him to compete with Hakuho until the final day.
Expect the Ozeki team to be non-factors again. Unless Koto'oshu can gain strength from his just-announced engagement, or Kotomitsuki from his marriage (see pics). Or unless Harumafuji can finally put it together and return to his pre-Ozeki form. Or unless Chiyotaikai is inspired by the fact that he is in danger of demotion if he doesn't win 8 this time (for the 13th time in his career of mediocrity).
Baruto has been fighting like an Ozeki (i.e. average) lately, without quite making it to the Ozeki level. He'll be in his 4th straight tournament at the Sekiwake rank just below Ozeki, but hasn't even sniffed a promotion. There is hope, though. The last guy to stay at Sekiwake for 4 tournaments in a row was Asashoryu.
There is a new Sekiwake joining Baruto. It's Great Japanese Hope Goeido, who made it up to Sekiwake in the 9th-fastest time in history, just behind Hakuho but just ahead of Baruto. But if Baruto can't take the next step to move up to Ozeki, I certainly don't expect Goeido to do it any time soon.
At the next rank down, Komusubi, there are two newcomers: Kakuryu and Tochiozan. Both are small, scrappy wrestlers with good skills. Kakuryu is the 8th Mongolian to reach the sanyaku (top 3 ranks). Not sure if either has what it takes to stay at that high a ranking.
There are no rookies, first-timers up to the majors, this tournament. (Not even any rookies in the Juryo, 2nd division.)
So we will have to watch old favorites like Futeno and Takamisakari, dropped way down after multiple bad tournaments, to #10 and #12, respectively. And we'll have to watch up-and-coming youngsters, like Aran, the 25-year old Russian in his 4th tournament in the majors, fighting at #4. And the man-mountain himself, Yamamotoyama, the 546-pound Japanese (who shares a birthday with Herbert Peduddy), wrestling at #9 in his 3rd tournament in the majors.
Meanwhile, my alter-ego Kunitachi moved up just 7 spots to #57 in the low minors in the Sumo pool. Though this should be a tough tournament to predict, I'll be looking for another double-digit-win tournament to move up into the top 50 of the low minors in July.
No, I don't mean college basketball. Sumo, baby!
The Osaka tournament starts this weekend. (Hard to believe it's a year since I went to Japan and saw the tournament live.)
Asashoryu won the tournament I saw last year in Osaka, and he won the last tournament in a playoff over Hakuho, and he's looking to win again. He certainly seems happy and excited and also has been practicing hard and looking pretty good in practice. He's back to being the higher-ranked East Yokozuna, but I think the experts would say that Hakuho is still the favorite.
Hakuho tied Asashoryu last tournament and won 3 of the last 4, and he still looks like the strongest wrestler out there. He's also been practicing hard and beating all the competition in practice.
All five Ozekis are back for this tournament and maybe 1 or 2 of them could compete with the Yokozunas. I expect Harumafuji, who had a pretty disappointing record in his first tournament as an Ozeki last time, will bounce back with a good record this time. And Kotomitsuki, who had a losing record last time, needs a good tournament (8 wins or more) to avoid demotion from Ozeki.
Baruto had a good tournament in January at Sekiwake, though not good enough to start any push for Ozeki promotion, but maybe this time he can sustain a challenge for the Cup until the end. He's joined this tournament at the Sekiwake rank by Great Japanese Hope Kisenosato (still only 22 years old). Kisenosato is a Sekiwake for the first time, but I don't expect him to be able to hold onto the ranking consistently. It took him 10 total tournaments at Komusubi before he finally got promoted to Sekiwake, which is tied for the most and not a great record to hold.
Kyokutenho got promoted back to Komusubi for the first time since May 2006. In that time, he had been demoted all the way down to the minor leagues before working his way back. Good for him, but he's getting old and he'll probably start the downward trend again with the next tournament.
Tochiozan is up all the way to Maegashira #2 from #12 last tournament, and Homasho is up to #7 from #16, but Takamisakari dropped down to #7 and Futeno fell from #5 to #9.
Last tournament's rookie, the giant Yamamotoyama, is still way down near the bottom, at #13, but will probably keep moving up.
And there is one rookie in the top division this tournament. Shotenro, another Mongolian, got his promotion after he won both of his tournaments in the minors. That's impressive, but even with a quick victorious trip through the highest minor division, it still took him 48 tournaments from his pro debut to finally making the majors (he was in the same entering class as Hakuho).
There is also one rookie in the Juryo division. His name is Okinoumi, changed this tournament from Fukuoka, which is his actual last name, and he jumped all the way up to halfway up the 2nd-highest division after going undefeated at the top of the 3rd-highest division last tournament.
And this tournament I am determined to do a much better job of picking winners in the Sumo pool. I think I finished something like 3-12 last tournament. Worse than Kaio at his worst. Unacceptable.
11-1: Hakuho
10-2: Kotomitsuki, Ama
9-3: Goeido
8-4: Kaio, Wakanosato, Futeno
7-5: Chiyotaikai
6-6: Koto'oshu, Aminishiki
5-5-3: Asashoryu
5-7: Baruto, Takamisakari
Hakuho beat Goeido yesterday to take the sole lead with one loss. He followed that up today with a win over Chiyotaikai to maintain his 1-match lead over Kotomitsuki and Ama.
Goeido fell out of the race when he lost today to Kaio to drop to 9-3 and 2 back with only 3 days to go. Still, he should move up to the top of the rankings next time and compete against all the top wrestlers.
Ama is proving he deserves that promotion to Ozeki. Today he beat Koto'oshu, completing a complete sweep of the Ozekis in the tournament. He has beaten Kaio, Kotomitsuki, Chiyotaikai and now Koto'oshu, in addition to his win over Asashoryu. He stands at 10-2, his second straight double-figure win total, and I imagine if he finishes 13-2, he will get promoted (especially if he ties for the tournament lead).
Kotomitsuki won again today to stay 1 back and still has a day 15 date with Hakuho, that gives Ama and him both hope for winning the tournament.
In the minors, the big guy, Yamamotoyama, has started to falter, dropping down to 8-4 and out of the tournament lead by 1.
Match of the day tomorrow: Hakuho (11-1) vs. Kaio (8-4)
Goeido got his first big test today and he failed, losing to Kotomitsuki to drop back into a tie for first at 6-1. It's the first time in over 2 years that not a single wrestler made it to 7-0, so I guess that means it's shaping up as one of the most exciting tournaments in a couple years.
Goeido is tied for the lead with Kotomitsuki, Hakuho and Ama.
Hakuho had a monster battle with Baruto today, as both got grips on the belts and struggled for advantage. Hakuho finally wore Baruto down and shoved him out. Baruto dropped to 2-4.
Ama beat Asasekiryu, by grabbing his arm and yanking him out.
Meanwhile, not tied for first is Asashoryu, who lost his 2nd match yesterday to Aminishiki, when Aminishiki jumped out of the way at the faceoff and Asashoryu went flying to the edge of the ring before finally stopping himself. From there, it was easy for Aminishiki to push him out.
The other Ozekis remain non-factors: Kaio is 4-3, Koto'oshu and Chiyotaikai are 3-4.
5-2 wrestlers include little (under 300 lbs) Mongolian Kakuryu, my man Futeno, and Georgian Kokkai, who lost his 2nd today.
The Juryo division also lost all its undefeated wrestlers today, when Yamamotoyama lost his first. In an impressive display, 340-pound Koryu pushed 550-pound Yamamotoyama out and down (nearly killing a referee who he landed on). Yamamotoyama is tied with one other wrestler at 6-1, with several wrestlers at 5-2.
Match of the day tomorrow: Kotomitsuki (6-1) vs. Ama (6-1)
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)
