6 posts tagged “toyonoshima”
Not sure what's gotten into Koto'oshu, but he stayed undefefated today with a strong win over Yokozuna Asashoryu:
Asashoryu's going to need a lot of help if he wants to win this tournament now. Starting with a win tomorrow for Hakuho over Koto'oshu. Hakuho is still only 1 behind, after beating Chiyotaikai today. If he beats Koto'oshu, there would be a 2-way tie for first (and Asashoryu could be only 1 back with a match against Hakuho still to come).
Koto'oshu would have to lose another, with upcoming matches against Kaio and Kotomitsuki being the best chances for that.
Toyonoshima is hanging in there, too, at 9-2. If Asashoryu could pull off a tie for the championship, Toyonoshima could sneak in there, too.
11-0: Koto'oshu
10-1: Hakuho
9-2: Asashoryu, Toyonoshima
7-4: Ama, Kisenosato, Futeno, Goeido
6-5: Kotomitsuki, Kaio
4-7: Takamisakari
3-8: Chiyotaikai, Baruto
Hakuho and Koto'oshu won to stay undefeated. Toyonoshima lost to Takamisakari, leaving them the only leaders.
Asashoryu and Kisenosato won to stay one back, and Kisenosato faces Koto'oshu tomorrow.
Kotomitsuki and Kaio won, but Chiyotaikai lost.
6-0: Hakuho, Koto'oshu
5-1: Asashoryu, Kisenosato
4-2: Kotomitsuki, Ama, Goeido, Roho
3-3: Kaio, Chiyotaikai, Kotoshogiku, Asasekiryu, Futeno, Takamisakari, Homasho
0-6: Baruto, Tochiozan
Match of the day tomorrow: Koto'oshu vs. Kisenosato
There's crazy stuff going on. Asashoryu lost again today. It's the first time since he was promoted to Yokozuna that he's lost the first 2 matches of a tournament. It's also the first time since 1999 that any Yokozuna has lost the first 2 matches. Even worse, Asashoryu has looked pretty much lost in both matches -- no power and no magic skills like usual. He'll have to do something fast to turn this tournament around.
Meanwhile, Tochiazuma has the advantage as the only Ozeki at 2-0. (Kotomitsuki is also 2-0.)
Some normalcy was restored today, though, as Hakuho and Koto'oshu won and Kaio lost.
Toyonoshima looked strong again, going to 2-0. But Tochiozan lost his first match as a Maegashira, so I guess we can't expect him to compete for the championship just yet.
And here comes another Mongolian: 21-yr. old Kakuryu is 2-0 in just his 3rd tournament in the majors.
More stats about Asashoryu's dominance. 5th wrestler to 20 championships (Taiho is 1st at 32. I give Asashoryu until July 2009 before he's in first.) 3rd youngest wrestler to 20 (Taiho and Takanohana got him there) at only 26 years old. Easily the fastest between his first and 20th tournament -- he is 20-6 since his first win. That's 20-6 in championships, not matches.
And he won this one in style, winning his last 13 matches after a surprise loss on day 3. His last win, over Koto'oshu on day 15, was a thing of beauty. Fighting for the belt and being pushed to the edge of the ring, Asashoryu then pulled off a super-fast, brilliant beltless throw of a guy way bigger than he. Perfect timing.
The 5 Ozeki's were unimpressive this tournament. Hakuho was coming back from injury and still managed 10 wins, so I'll give him a pass. Chiyotaikai lost 3 of his last 5 to also end up 10-5. Koto'oshu fell to a mediocre 9-6 with his loss on day 15. Kaio squeaked out an 8-7 tournament, so he's not in danger of demotion, but he certainly looks over the hill. The injured Tochiazuma ended up 5-10, so he will get demoted if he can't win 8 next tournament. In fact, he said that if he can't do well at the start of next tournament, he will probably retire.
Toyonoshima finished strong with a good win over Kotomitsuki, to finish in 2nd place. He finished 12-3 and was given both the Fighting Spirit Award and the Technique Award.
Takamisakari blew it, losing on the last day to fall to 7-8. (Went from 6-2 to 7-8. Very sad.) In fact, many of the 7-7 wrestlers lost on the last day, even when facing a wrestler who had already made his winning record. Take that, Freakonomics!
Ama also had a great tournament, finishing 10-5 after knocking Toyonoshima out on day 14. He is looking good to gain promotion back to the top ranks. Another personal favorite and small Mongolian, Asasekiryu, also finished 10-5.
Also expected to be promoted to Komusubi is Kotoshogiku, who won his last 4 and finished 9-6 as the top-ranked Maegashira (i.e. just under the top, named ranks).
And in the up-and-coming camp, in Juryo (the minor leagues), Toyohibiki won the championship in his first tournament as a Juryo wrestler. He won in a 3-way tiebreaker against Tochiozan and Shimotori. Tochiozan will be promoted to the big leagues after finishing 10-5 as the #2 Juryo. I believe that will make him one of the fastest wrestlers to make it to the big leagues, so watch for him in the future.
That's the news from Sumo's first tournament 2007. Tune back in March 11 for the Osaka tournament, to see if Asashoryu can win his 5th straight or if Hakuho will be healthy enough to compete with him.
Asashoryu won again, this time over Kaio, who is now 1 loss away from a losing record (again - sigh).
He still leads by only 1, though, because Toyonoshima beat Ushiomaru (very easily).
However, Tamanoshima lost, so those are they only 2 left with a chance to win.
Tomorrow, it's Asashoryu vs. Tochiazuma and Toyonoshima vs. Ama (who is 5-0 vs. Toyonoshima in his career). If Asashoryu wins and Toyonoshima loses, it's over.
12-1: Asashoryu
11-2: Toyonoshima
9-4: Koto'oshu, Chiyotaikai
8-5: Hakuho, Kotomitsuki, Ama
7-6: Takamisakari
6-7: Kaio
5-8: Tochiazuma
Asashoryu keeps winning and his supposed competition isn't even putting up a fight.
Today, Asashoryu killed Chiyotaikai. Almost every sumo wrestler (and these are not small guys) seems to get knocked around when Chiyotaikai unleashes his patented pushing attack. Asashoryu didn't budge. Yes, he's fast and skilled, but man, is he strong. After Chiyotaikai exhausted himself pushing at Asashoryu, the Yokozuna grabbed his arm, pulled him to the side and gave him one shove to get him out. One competitor down.
Before that, Koto'oshu lost to Hakuho, who is definitely already back to looking like the best of the Ozeki's. Koto'oshu still has to go up against Asashoryu, but now he's 3 behind with 3 days to go, so he's out, too. Meanwhile, Hakuho won his 8th, which means (no surprise) that he won't be demoted from his Ozeki rank.
The only 2 wrestlers left with a chance to beat Asashoryu are Toyonoshima, at 10-2, and Tamanoshima (not related) at 9-3. It's possible Toyonoshima, going against weaker competition, will finish 13-2, and Asashoryu could lose another (against Kaio, Tochiazuma, and Koto'oshu). But in a tiebreaker, Toyonoshima wouldn't have a chance, and I doubt Asashoryu will lose 2 of those 3. (Actually, I doubt he'll lose any of them. I expect Asashoryu wraps it up on Saturday, as is his usual.)
Ama is looking great. He beat Kaio today to go to 8-4. Takamisakari, on the other hand, is looking terrible, dropping his 4th straight to fall to 6-6.
Today's big matches: Asashoryu vs. Kaio; Toyonoshima vs. Ushiomaru
11-1: Asashoryu
10-2: Toyonoshima
9-3: Tamanoshima
8-4: Koto'oshu, Chiyotaikai, Hakuho, Ama, Ushiomaru
7-5: Kotomitsuki
6-6: Kaio, Kisenosato, Takamisakari
5-7: Tochiazuma
