Sekiwake For Life

[Daigaiguma 0]

If Kotomitsuki loses today (and it does seem rather likely), he will have achieved 7 straight 8-7 records. That's 8-7 for the whole year (plus Kyushu last year). That's 48 wins, the lowest possible to never lose a rank.

In several of the basho this year, he had to fight for his 8-7, but the past two he has stormed ahead and been an early yusho challenger only to drop 5 or 6 in a row to finish out the basho rather miserably.

As I am relatively new to sumo (just a couple of years), can anyone tell me of another sanyaku rikishi who scraped by in this way for so long?

I am not a Mickey-hater. When his game is on, I truly enjoy his sumo, especially his thunderous tachiai. I'm just wondering how this keeps consistently happening and whether there is any precedent for it.

[Shomishuu 0]

can anyone tell me of another sanyaku rikishi who scraped by in this way for so long? I am not a Mickey-hater. When his game is on, I truly enjoy his sumo, especially his thunderous tachiai. I'm just wondering how this keeps consistently happening and whether there is any precedent for it.

I'm not very good with the hakke yoi search function yet, but off the top of my head, the former ozeki Asashio (current Takasago Oyakata) put together 23 straight basho as ozeki while achieving double digit wins just once. Here's the link: http://www.hakkeyoi.net/rikishi.html?rid=22&compact=0. Not to say there aren't others, but that's some pretty serious scraping by, in my opinion.

[Peterao 3]

http://www.hakkeyoi.net/query.html?columns...amp;show_form=0

On another note, if Miyabiyama wins today, there will not be a single MK amongst sekiwake for the entire year...the only rank of sumo that could make that claim.

Edited November 26, 2006 by Peterao

[kotooshu_bulgaria 0]

9-6 for Kotomitsuki, but still rather disappointing display this basho when losing, as the NHK commentators discussed, he is displaying ozeki sumo when he wins and rookie sumo when he loses. Since Kotoshogiku will most probably be shinsanyaku next basho, I could not help but get the thought that there is a possibility, although quite distant, that Kotoshogiku becomes ozeki before Kotomitsuki and becomes his second stablemate to overtake him in ozeki promotion. I hope that Kotoshogiku's rise to sanyaku helps Kotomitsuki to finally get that extra fighting spirit, which is required for ozeki promotion.