Hakuryuho

Kiribayama promoted to Ozeki, Hoshoryu/Wakamotoharu and Daieisho needing 12 and 11 wins in Nagoya respectively to be promoted themselves... The rank of Ozeki might become crowded again rather soon. (And we're not even talking about Ochiai and Onosato who seem to be on a Ozeki trajectory at the least) Sumo's future is looking bright!

So sad to see Asanowaka struggle down in makushita. Made Juryo in Nov '21, after going 5-2 at ms1e the previous tournament. 10-5 record his first basho as a sekitori, another 10-5 record at J8 a few bashos later and J4 as his highest rank. He seemed to be destined to reach Makuuchi at least, as he was producing fine results in his first tournaments as a sekitori. Then Covid hit, he was infected and is reportedly struggling with long covid symptoms. The strength and ferocity with which he fought only a few months ago had vanished. I watch every bout of his and he appeared and still appears weak, incapable of showing any resistance to his opponents' moves. It's very sad to see. And the worst thing? Apparently he personally asked Wakamatsu oyakata (former maegashira Asanowaka) for his shikona, as he "did good Sumo with all his heart and had few injuries". Rough. Hope he can recover from long covid and return to his old strength. He certainly was a joy to watch when he was at his full strength!

Roga certainly looks in good shape, but he is 2-1 atm

1. Kinbozan KK 2. Hoshoryu 9-6 3. Hokuseiho KK 4. Kiribayama 10-5 5. Kotonowaka 8-7 6. Roga MK 7. Toseiryu KK 8. Kazekeno KK 9. Asanoyama KK 10. Shonannoumi KK 11. Hakuyozan KK 12. Miyagi MK 13. Takahashi KK 14. Toshunryu MK 15. Oshoumi KK 16. Toshoyama MK 17. Wakamotoharu 9-6 TB 17

Haha I was just messing around, I'm really not a stickler for flawless orthography, you do you

As you are very meticulous when it comes to the correct spelling of Japanese rikishi, you might want to use "Schrödinger's rikishi" moving forward

Oh I sure would! But thankfully they don't understand German

What an exciting day of Sumo. The changing of the guard is in full effect, out of the 7 junior san'yaku only Tobizaru has crossed the 30-year threshold, and he, together with Wakatakakage, is the only one with a negative score at the moment. Daieisho and Kotonowaka have achieved more wins than losses on Day 10 already with Hoshoryu, Wakamotoharu and Kiribayama knocking on kachikoshi's door with 7 wins each. I was very doubtful about the future of ozumo in the last few years, especially after Hakuho vacated the throne to an already beaten up Terunofuji, but if this trend continues it does look rather auspicious for ozumo. Can't wait to watch the current crop of junior san'yaku blossom further and for the other hopes a la Ochiai, Kinbozan, etc. to begin their ascend to whatever heights they are destined to reach.

Nice win by Takakeisho, but I'm slightly worried by his left ankle, he appeared to have hurt it in his bout as he couldn't properly squat to receive his envelopes and was limping a bit after. Hope it is nothing serious and he's ready to give it his all again tomorrow.

1. Wakatakakage 9-6 2. Ryuden KK 3. Kinbozan KK 4. Hoshoryu 9-6 5. Hokuseiho KK 6. Takakeisho 8-7 7. Kiribayama 9-6 8. Kotonowaka 9-6 9. Roga KK 10. Hatsuyama KK 11. Kototebakari KK 12. Toseiryu KK 13. Bushozan KK 14. Hitoshi KK 15. Kazekeno KK 16. Wakamiyabi KK 17. Rinko MK 18. Asanoyama KK 19. Shonannoumi KK 20. Hakuyozan MK TB 18

He's taking his talents to South Tokyo?

I think that's something us "mere mortals" probably will never get, professional athletes competing in the highest echelons of their respective sports will do anything to compete, it's their single biggest goal in life. Some sabotage their opponents, some use PEDs, some put their body to the absolute limit just to do what they do best. Wasn't there a poll asking Olympic athletes if they would reduce their life span by ten years if it meant winning a gold medal at the olympic games?

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Talking of Ochiai and Nakamura, here are pretty cool videos I recently got recommended again by YouTube (not sure if they have been posted here yet), which show Ochiai training when he was still a high school student,fighting Nakamura and others as well as him enjoying some chankonabe after a hard training session.

One thing to consider is the fact that Asanoyama quite possibly isn't in the Sumo kyokai's good graces at the moment, which could have an effect when it comes to his ranking on the Haru banzuke.