March basho 2021

[Kotomiyama 161]

Watching Hoshoryu I can't shake the feeling of witnessing the first steps of a future Yokozuna. He's got that something and I hope he keeps on progressing. 

[Kaninoyama 1,663]

1 hour ago, Kotomiyama said:

Watching Hoshoryu I can't shake the feeling of witnessing the first steps of a future Yokozuna. He's got that something and I hope he keeps on progressing. 

More and more people are catching on. 

[Kaninoyama 1,663]

7 hours ago, Amamaniac said:

 I believe that in many cases, the inspiration and motivation required to push wrestlers to achieve greatness come from stablemasters (at least Isegahama Oyakata is often credited with providing both Harumafuji and Terunofuji with critical motivation).

That seemed to be the case with Takayasu as well. He surged to Ozeki and was doing his best sumo at the same time Kisenosato became Yokozuna. Both spoke of lifting each other up. But once the latter became injured and then retired, Takayasu fell off as well and has yet to regain that level of performance, although he's looking a lot better this basho. Maybe fatherhood agrees with him?

[Asapedroryu 227]

9 hours ago, Churaumi said:

Tochinoshin now and Tochinoshin as an ozeki are two different things. 

No, they are exactly the same. i. e. pretty rubbish. Don't forget that in terms of results (statistics), Tochinoshin is the worst ozeki in modern sumo (hope Shodai won't break his record). The Tochinoshin of the 4/5 basho before Ozeki and the one where we regain ozeki from sekiwaki were in fact of a top wrestler.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Asapedroryu

[since_94 650]

Should have been a torinaoshi for Daieisho-Takarafuji. Daieisho got robbed there. Terunofuji planting Kiribayama with authority like that had great replay value.You could hear the murmur in the crowd as soon as he got that right hand outside grip. They all knew a big power lift could follow in short order, and they weren’t disappointed. That kind of display of brute strength provides great entertainment value for the fans. There’s a lot of anticipation for Terunofuji’s matches every day. Agree with other commenters that Asanoyama looked his most solid so far on day 6.

[Ichimawashi 573]

3 hours ago, Asapedroryu said:

No, they are exactly the same. i. e. pretty rubbish. Don't forget that in terms of results (statistics), Tochinoshin is the worst ozeki in modern sumo (hope Shodai won't break his record). The Tochinoshin of the 4/5 basho before Ozeki and the one where we regain ozeki from sekiwaki were in fact of a top wrestler.

 

 

Statistics aside, I think that the non-Georgians among us realized that ozeki might be the pinnacle and expected that coming back from the injury had robbed him of the time many Ozekis have had to establish himself at the rank.  The tournaments that preceded his promotion to Ozeki made me retire the nickname Touchy Notion when trying to predict winners.  Now the unpredictable Touchy Notion is often showing up, due to accumulated wear and tear, but there are still streaks of the Tochinoshin that had a handful of tournaments where it seemed he had solved all the problems and could go as high as he wished.  He's doing very well avoiding the inevitable, and his brief time as Ozeki is in no way proof that he should not have been promoted.  One tarnishes the Ozeki rank by not trying, not by failure due to wear and tear.

[since_94 650]

Sheer brilliance from Ura. Can't wait til he's back in Makuuchi.

[Seiyashi 4,068]

There goes Enho's perfect record. More worryingly, it's a return to old form where he'd bury himself in his opponent at 90 degrees and then subsequently get collapsed or crushed down. I hope today is a temporary blip.

[Tigerboy1966 1,376]

8 minutes ago, Seiyashi said:

There goes Enho's perfect record. More worryingly, it's a return to old form where he'd bury himself in his opponent at 90 degrees and then subsequently get collapsed or crushed down. I hope today is a temporary blip.

Credit to Azumaryu for using his height and reach to execute a solid anti-Enho strategy. He stood back from the lines at the start so he had a chance to read any tricks and then tied things up to bring strength into play.The little fellow was certainly not going to get anywhere near a leg-pick.

[Seiyashi 4,068]

Snippets from Hakkaku's time as Hoshii - including his first basho and his training with Chiyonofuji. They bring up the interesting stat of a 10-basho win streak for Kokonoe beya starting in Showa 60 Aki.

Also, apparently Kitanofuji has been awarded the NHK Cultural Award last year; the award is a recognition by NHK for contributions to NHK broadcasts.

Edited March 20, 2021 by Seiyashi

[ViscountessNivlac 24]

10 hours ago, Kotomiyama said:

Watching Hoshoryu I can't shake the feeling of witnessing the first steps of a future Yokozuna. He's got that something and I hope he keeps on progressing. 

 

He was very good today, avoiding that step-out like that.

[Eikokurai 3,433]

That was far too easy for Terunofuji. Mitakeumi posed no challenge at all. Tomorrow we get an early "six pointer", as they say in football, as Terunofuji and Takayasu (both 6-1) face off for the yusho-race lead. Not a bad way to mark the mid-basho point.

Takakeisho drops a third. That kadoban clearance is looking a bit sketchier now as in week two he'll face the other Ozeki and the Sekiwake, most of whom are in form.

Sloppy defeat for Asanoyama, but a great win by Shodai. That was a monstrous uwatenage.

Edited March 20, 2021 by Eikokurai

[Thorbjarn 214]

Both Hokutofuji and Mitakeumi seem to be in week 2 mode, with is good and bad respectively. 

Terunofuji looks every bit like an Ozeki. There are still a few challengers for him for the Yusho, though. 

On the Ozeki discussion: Since I restarted watching regularly in early 2017 it seems the Ozeki are a little cursed. It seems that drops in form are mostly injury related, though. Takayasu looked to be one step away from taking a Yusho a few times, then his arm got injured. Tochinoshin looked like a world beater, then got injured in his very first tournament as an Ozeki.

Takakeisho seems to have lost a bit of his swagger, but considering all his limitations he did pretty well so far imo. But even he had really bad luck with injuries.

Asanoyama and Shodai the jury is still out on. I really hope Shodai is just in a slump right now, he seemed to have finally put it all together. 

All in all the Ozeki seemed to deliver fine results during the last few Basho, it is still somewhat disappointing since you expect them to content (and win) the Yusho in absence of a Yokozuna. 

[Seiyashi 4,068]

2 minutes ago, Thorbjarn said:

On the Ozeki discussion: Since I restarted watching regularly in early 2017 it seems the Ozeki are a little cursed. It seems that drops in form are mostly injury related, though. Takayasu looked to be one step away from taking a Yusho a few times, then his arm got injured. Tochinoshin looked like a world beater, then got injured in his very first tournament as an Ozeki.

Takakeisho seems to have lost a bit of his swagger, but considering all his limitations he did pretty well so far imo. But even he had really bad luck with injuries.

Asanoyama and Shodai the jury is still out on. I really hope Shodai is just in a slump right now, he seemed to have finally put it all together. 

All in all the Ozeki seemed to deliver fine results during the last few Basho, it is still somewhat disappointing since you expect them to content (and win) the Yusho in absence of a Yokozuna. 

Agreed. Going by historical trends two of them ought to have made yokozuna by now, but it is what it is. Going even further back, the previous ozeki before Takayasu was Terunofuji, the Once and Future ozeki, but even he doesn't look like he has high chances of becoming and staying yokozuna for long. Asanoyama and Shodai really are the next best hopes; at least Asanoyama seems to be slowly muddling his way towards yokozuna-type sumo but it's both a bit early to tell and still a bit rough around the edges.

17 minutes ago, Eikokurai said:

That was far too easy for Terunofuji. Mitakeumi posed no challenge at all. Tomorrow we get an early "six pointer", as they say in football, as Terunofuji and Takayasu (both 6-1) face off for the yusho-race lead. Not a bad way to mark the mid-basho point.

Takakeisho drops a third. That kadoban clearance is looking a bit sketchier now as in week two he'll face the other Ozeki and the Sekiwake, most of whom are in form.

Sloppy defeat for Asanoyama, but a great win by Shodai. That was a monstrous uwatenage.

That should be a nice barn burner to watch. Takayasu has delivered very good watchable sumo this basho. Shodai got a bit lucky there to be honest; he was on the back foot until he got to the tawara.

Maybe we should dismember all three ozeki and put them together to form a super ozeki, then they can challenge for the rope...

[Eikokurai 3,433]

10 minutes ago, Thorbjarn said:

Asanoyama and Shodai the jury is still out on.

Neither has been in the rank that long, but Asanoyama is doing great as an Ozeki so far, imo. His one kyujo aside, he's put up double-digits in each of the three basho he's finished and is on course to do the same this time. Nothing wrong with his numbers. An Ozeki who wins 10+ this consistently becomes a Yokozuna. Kisenosato is a case in point.

FWIW, he's not scored worse than 10-5 since July 2019 when he ended 7-8 at M1. He's more than at home at the top of the banzuke.

Edited March 20, 2021 by Eikokurai

[Jakusotsu 5,757]

12 minutes ago, Thorbjarn said:

Terunofuji looks every bit like an Ozeki Yokozuna.

fixed

[Seiyashi 4,068]

11 minutes ago, Eikokurai said:

18 minutes ago, Thorbjarn said:

Asanoyama and Shodai the jury is still out on.

Neither has been in the rank that long, but Asanoyama is doing great as an Ozeki so far, imo. His one kyujo aside, he's put up double-digits in each of the three basho he's finished and is on course to do the same this time. Nothing wrong with his numbers. An Ozeki who wins 10+ this consistently becomes a Yokozuna. Kisenosato is a case in point.

I fully agree Asanoyama is doing great as an ozeki. His problem is that he has been put on a pedestal as the next yokozuna from the very start of his ozeki career, so unfortunately that results in judging his results by a yokozuna lens and not an ozeki one. And with a yokozuna, or a challenge for yokozuna, it's not about the bouts you win but the ones you lose; in each of his doubledigit basho he has lost 2-3 to fellow sanyaku and one to a maegashira. 

That said, considering very few ozeki reach yokozuna within a year, give Asanoyama time. In fact, now that the expectation of his very good shin-ozeki basho and ex-Asashio's retirement is over, he seems to be picking up a bit mentally. He's still dropping random bouts in stupid ways to maegashira, but the true test of his different style this basho will be against his fellow ozeki and Terunofuji.

It is an exceptional slump in terms of misfiring/injured/cursed ozeki we've had (Takayasu was very very unlucky with on-dohyo injuries), but it's easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel now than it would have been two years ago.

Edited March 20, 2021 by Seiyashi

[Eikokurai 3,433]

3 minutes ago, Seiyashi said:

His problem is that he has been put on a pedestal as the next yokozuna from the very start of his ozeki career

That's not his problem, that's everyone else's. He's an Ozeki and should be judged only according to that for the time being. 

[Seiyashi 4,068]

2 minutes ago, Eikokurai said:

That's not his problem, that's everyone else's. He's an Ozeki and should be judged only according to that for the time being. 

At the risk of quibbling, sort of yes sort of no. The expectation on him due in part to his really good shin-ozeki basho is everyone else's projections, I agree, but then he went and did a number on himself with his hints of wanting to be promoted prior to Asashio's retirement/handover, and that just fed into the existing projections about him. Now the spotlight has shifted to Terunofuji, who's much better able to handle it, so we shall truly see how well Asanoyama does.

[Thorbjarn 214]

I will take your word for it, @Jakusotsu

I have to admit, during the last few years I have seen Yokozunae, but I can't say for sure if they looked like Yokozunae. Hakuho is an entirely different beast, at his peak he was probably very exceptional though.

Harumafuji was banged up and soon retired, Kakuryu was injured (he had a spell of good/great tournaments) and Kisenosato was crippled in his first tournament as Yokozuna. It will be interesting how Terunofuji does when he reaches Ozeki. 

@Eikokuraiyeah

I agree that Asanoyama has been getting results so far (aside from one kyujo). Some eyebrow raisers occurred, like frequently getting ragdolled by Terunofuji and for instance losses during the first four days in four of his five Ozeki bashos so far. I liked him since he made Juryo and I really hope he will succeed even more than he already has , though. 

Edit: and we get Enho vs Ura AND Takayasu vs Terunofuji tomorrow, that's just amazing. 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Thorbjarn

[pricklypomegranate 730]

Kiribayama had more than a shade of Harumafuji today. Quick, tactical and above all, decisive. Exceptional performance. Great performance by Hoshoryu too. They have big shoes to fill, but there’s still some quality in the Mongolians yet. But the homegrown wrestlers did well today too. Meisei outclassed Takakeisho in his own game, and Shimanoumi put in a noble resistance today, putting the meaning of fear in Shodai’s heart. It’s like the Ozeki rank doesn’t mean anything anymore. It’s certainly contributing the growing successional crisis in sumo. 

Enho v. Ura tomorrow. Might be clash of the basho. 
 

Bonus

Oh, hell. 

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by pricklypomegranate

[Benihana 1,900]

1 hour ago, Thorbjarn said:

Harumafuji was banged up and soon retired

Huh? He didn't retire, because he was banged up. He retired, because he banged someones head with a karaoke remote. Without that mishap, he could still be around, probably in better shape than Kakuryu.

 

On the one hand, i want to sleep in on a sunday, on the other hand there's Enho vs. Ura. Decisions, decisions... 

 

EDIT: On another note, this just came in: Tokyo olympics without foreign visitors 

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Benihana

[Hakuryuho 334]

I don't want to sound too negative but the fact that we have 3 Ozeki fighting and none are on top of the leaderboard
after a mere 7 days (and with no undefeated rikishi) is quite concerning to me.

Oh well.

[Jakusotsu 5,757]

5 minutes ago, Hakuryuho said:

I don't want to sound too negative but the fact that we have 3 Ozeki fighting and none are on top of the leaderboard
after a mere 7 days (and with no undefeated rikishi) is quite concerning to me.

So, what else is new?

[Amamaniac 2,078]

2 hours ago, Eikokurai said:

Sloppy defeat for Asanoyama, but a great win by Shodai. That was a monstrous uwatenage.

I'm not inclined to call Asanoyama's loss sloppy.  If anything, he was caught sleeping by a speedy Kiribayama.  Kotoshoho may have edged him out on the 2020 Top Division Rookie Prize and Forum members may be excited about Hoshoryu's Yokozuna prospects, but at this stage, I am a little more excited about Kiribayama's future in this sport.

As for Shodai's win, the finish may have been "great", but the bout as a whole made Shodai look less than dominant (nay "vulnerable").  Since becoming an Ozeki, Shodai seems to be having one good tournament followed by one miserable tournament.  With more losses than wins this tournament, he's heading for his second Ozeki mk.  And even he he somehow manages to avoid makekoshi, he is for all intents and purposes out of this yusho race...