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Akinomaki

72nd All Japan sumo championships 2023

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The 72nd All Japan sumo championships are tomorrow, Dec. 3rd in the kokugikan, the final part 1h live from 17h JST on on NHK-G - and consequently nothing so far on schedule from the sumo federation.

The pairings of the 68 participants for the preliminary rounds https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1r8G1ZnbDfELhfpUwOatUfXbycBHsQIiDQMqD5tponzI/

 

The 36th All Japan primary school championships are at the same day and place - 6th grade pairings: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1b0Se5RcLqBzt-dbYr5gXB2tZWwlHgZ_gcIoCHz7C_50/

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Kokutai juniors champion Kunitsugu from Hiryu high in the opening bout against Kusano, to be discouraged from the start. His name is written with the old form of the kanji for country, in articles he always was reported with the standard one 国. High school yokozuna Nishide has only Goshima as the hardest opponent.

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Sosorkhuu (just graduated from Tottori Johoku high, corporate for Tottori pref.) already has his msTD from the kokutai - looks like easy opponents for him in the prelims.

The other Mongolians are not 4th year yet. Senshu university's champ Sukhbat (3rd year), also from Tottori Johoku high, had a few good results this year https://sensupo.com/news/category/id/117

Otgonbat (2nd year, 196cm, 159kg), from Meitoku gijuku high https://ameblo.jp/toyo-sumo/entry-12741379833.html helped Toyodai to beat Nichidai at the Towada tournament this year, for a yusho after 6 years - and made it to the individuals sf there https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2023/08/15/kiji/20230815s00005000160000c.html

And there is Nittaidai's Bucheroon (likely spelled differently), high school wrestling champ from Kashiwa Nittaidai high https://db.japan-wrestling.jp/player/トワードルジ・ブフチョローン/ - the other from the team with katakana name is Christopher, haafu I guess, as likely George Matsunaga

Edited by Akinomaki
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4 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

And there is Nittaidai's Bucheroon (likely spelled differently)

Wildly googling for existing Mongolian names, my guess is that トワードルジ プフチョローン is supposed to be Tuvaadorj Bukhchuluun.

What I find interesting is that Bukhchuluun and Sosorkhuu are listed with their full names in the draw; they usually don't do that with their amasumo appearances, and of course Otgonbat and Sukhbat have got the usual one-name treatment.


Oh! Confirmed.

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For completeness, the 4th and 5th grade draws. I never realized how small the tournament rosters are for this event (just 33 per grade).

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13qTMF9xAh7RxC_GAH6k9ZE6JSesLCtwwVqyogU5p7XE/
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sZMmyh22aF2O6AjpIDccMFOqOmwFcsIbYnSkzM5yEiw/

Supposedly there's video from the elementary school championship on the Renmei Youtube channel - but the start time announced on their website (10:50 JST) corresponds to the start of the adult prelim matches, which precede the kids' tournament. Hmm. Currently no live broadcast set up yet, though.

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23 hours ago, Akinomaki said:

Kokutai juniors champion Kunitsugu from Hiryu high in the opening bout against Kusano, to be discouraged from the start. His name is written with the old form of the kanji for country, in articles he always was reported with the standard one 国. High school yokozuna Nishide has only Goshima as the hardest opponent.

Expectedly, Kunitsugu after that kept losing. Nishide won all 3 but then again had to face Goshima in the final tournament and lost without getting to another sdTD.

Sosorkhuu won 2 in the final but got injured and withdrew in the best 16. The other Mongolians also made it to the final,  Sukhbat lost in the best 16 and ends with sdTD - I miscalculated his year, he's 4th year at Senshu university and may use it.

Bukhchuluun just won and has another msTD - in addition to that as student championships 4th.

Recording and watching the recording with a few seconds delay:

Spoiler

youtube-dl --hls-use-mpegts -q -o Zennihon23dNHK1.mp4 https://nhk4.mov3.co/hls/nhk.m3u8

Edited by Akinomaki
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Amateur yokozuna Ikeda (4th year Kanazawa gakuin - first yusho for the university) wants to continue in corporate sumo - maybe his uncle Takenawa-oyakata (Tochinonada) can convince him otherwise, but likely we won't see him in ozumo. I guess Kasugano-beya is not very appealing.

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Ikeda had been runner-up at the junior Kokutai, the All Japan student championship, and multiple national tournaments in college. I believe he lost every national final he made in high school and university, so I  am happy to see him win this. He's been one of the most consistent high level performers for the last 2 years and his sumo is nice to watch. 

Uncle was 2nd at this event but I don't think won it.

Edited by Katooshu

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Tsukedashi this year who may use them (Hasegawa has joined without using it)

kokutai

On 15/10/2023 at 09:15, Akinomaki said:

Juniors 4th place Imada is a third year at Tokyo Adachi shinden high, so we have Hiryu high 3rd year Kunitsugu and him as prospects to use their sd90TD

On 15/10/2023 at 04:46, Katooshu said:

Ms60TD

1st: Kazuma Kawabuchi (Ishikawa prefecture; 4th year at Nihon U)

2nd: Naoya Kusano (Kumamoto prefecture; 4th year at Nihon U)

4th: Sosorufu Sosorkhuu (Tottori prefecture; corporate sumo; junior runner-up last year - beat Kawabuchi in the team finals)

Joint 5th:

Taiki Mita (Tochigi prefecture; 4th year at Kinki U)

Matsui (Tottori prefecture; corporate sumo; 2022 Interhigh runner-up)

On 17/10/2023 at 11:27, Akinomaki said:

sdTD for Yamazaki (Kindai 4th year)

Other 4th years with sdTD: Hirano from Chudai https://chuosumo.org/メンバー紹介/198-2/ and Kitano from Komazawa-dai o

students

On 04/11/2023 at 10:51, Akinomaki said:

4th years among the best 16 (sd90TD): Yuuki Hokao (Nittaidai), Ryuya Kitano (Komazawa-daigaku ), Tenarashi Sarukawa (Tonodai - quite a name)

best 8 (ms60TD): Hayato Hirano (Chudai ), George (Jouji) Matsunaga (Takudai), Naoya Kusano and Shun Ikeda

 

all qualified at the All Japan already have one, Kusano 2:

Additional sdTD for Mita (Kindai) - he got injured in the best 16 bout - and kokutai yokozuna Kawabuchi (Nichidai), Kusano and Ikeda for another ms60TD

Edited by Akinomaki

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2 hours ago, Katooshu said:

Ikeda had been runner-up at the junior Kokutai, the All Japan student championship, and multiple national tournaments in college. I believe he lost every national final he made in high school and university, so I  am happy to see him win this.

About time as well lol. His younger brother won a national championship years ago.

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3,000 Yen entry fee (3,500 for a reserved seat) plus another 1,000 Yen for the tournament program was definitely well worth it to watch a full day's worth of sumo. Seeing various rikishi and oyakata (including Miyagino and Naruto) around the arena was the icing on the cake.

Bukhchuluun was very impressive throughout the tournament, and pulled off a great move to beat Kusano in the semis. I honestly thought with that great position he'd got himself into in the final that Bukhchuluun would win it, but Ikeda did really well to turn the position around with a kotenage.

The star of the entire event has to be 35-year old Yuki Usuki. The Tokyo University of Agriculture veteran rolled back the years to make it to the last 8, only losing to the eventual winner. The cheering was loudest when he won (together with high schooler Nishide).

Meanwhile, the Primary School Championships went exactly the way you'd expect. Yuya Okayama (Grade 6) and Ryuga Umemats (Grade 5) were totally unstoppable, while Grade 4 was a repeat of the Wanpaku final between Shoi Oshima (whom the announcer kept calling "Shosei") and Hyuga Iwagami. This time it was Hyuga who came out on top. Haruki Sasaki, who had previously lost to Yuya in the Hakuho Cup final this year, still couldn't come up with anything effective. He was crying long after the final was over.

I asked Mr Sagawa after the tournament about whether there were livestreams of the other high school and college events, and whether there are results from them. He mentioned the Nihon Sumo Renmei homepage and a magazine that you can apply for?

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On 03/12/2023 at 09:23, Akinomaki said:

Sukhbat lost in the best 16 and ends with sdTD - I miscalculated his year, he's 4th year at Senshu university and may use it

NHK reported Sukhbat as 4th year, but Sponichi as 3rd year  o and that's what I found elsewhere, so I guess the error is at NHK - I have omitted him from my TD list above

the top 4: Bukhchuluun, Ikeda, Ishizaki (corporate, younger brother of Asakoryu. 23, but he won't join ozumo), Kusano - one from corporate sumo in the best 4, 7 in the best 16, overall 29, 37 students, 2 high school o o

202312040000291-w1300_0.jpg

 

final Ikeda- Bukhchuluun

4.jpgo4.jpgo 20231203at49S_t.jpgo  img_0879d64970ef19e39e62a49e17b32cbf212610.jpgo 20231203-OYT1I50120-1.jpg?type=mediumo 4.jpgo 4.jpgo20231203-OHT1I51330-N.jpgo 4.jpgo4.jpgo 202312040000291-w200_1.jpgo 4.jpgo4.jpgo

4.jpgo img_7aff7c15fdd49b8b1105bc639456a9ed184844.jpgo 20231203-OHT1I51345-N.jpgo20231203at50S_t.jpgo4.jpgo

Ikeda sf and final

3020017196_20231203190328_s.jpgvid

prelims: Kawabuchi-Oku, Nishide-Goshima

20231203s00005000402000p_thum.jpgo 20231203s00005000404000p_thum.jpgo

After 4 years the previous prelim league format of 4 people in one group was used again, thus we only had 68, down from last year 122

Edited by Akinomaki
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I'm getting the feeling that, perhaps aside of Bukhchuluun, this isn't a crop that people except much from in regards to ozumo.

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There is no super talent like Onosato and the seniors are a bit short on depth, but still some decent prospects. Among those who haven't already set their sets on corporate sumo I think all of the below have good sekitori potential

Kusano: Wins over Hokuseiho, Gonoyama, Takahashi, Asakoryu, Oshoma, Tenshoho, Onosato, Tochimusashi. Good body for ozumo, no one standout ability but well rounded and strong. Consistent performer who was 2nd/1st/3rd at the three major tournaments this year. Should reach makuuchi if he can stay reasonably healthy. 

Kawabuchi: Huge and far more skilled than you typically see among giants, with a wide range of moves he's effective with. Often blasted out good opponents like nothing. Lots of good wins, including vs some of the sekitori above. He was one of the very few people to beat Onosato multiple times in college (2-7 head to head vs the big O I think) and the only person to do it who wasn't multiple years ahead of Ono. Though I do worry about longevity given injury history and years of being extremely heavy.

Taiki Mita: Small, but athletically impressive, very spirited competitor with a bit of a Tobizaru feel. Many good results since his 2nd year and did well against large opponents.

The clear #1 for this year group was of course Hidetora Hanada, but we know his story....

Among those not in their final year

Bukhchuluun obviously - despite not winning a national title yet in openweight competition, he's scored dozens of good wins and practically owned the Nihon U team this year. Clearly skillful and strong for his size; trajectory of improving results.

Yasuhiro Omori: Was the top high schooler of his time outside of Ochiai (Kototebakari and Wakanosho were same year too). Good results in his first two years of university, with an athletic, skillful style featuring a standout uwatenage. One of the more 'ripped' competitors, with a muscular build at 184/115 ish.

Masaki Hanaoka: In my view the top technician in amasumo. Excellent belt game, with an even better uwatenage than Omori. Many national and regional titles in university, as well as a third at last year's student championship. 

Ryusho Kawakami: Nephew of Onoe oyakata and brother of former juryo Ryuko. 185/120kgish, reminds me a lot of Wakamotoharu in terms of impressive strength for size and a trademark utchari. Good balance, though stiff in contrast to the fluid Hanaoka.

Masaharu Goshima: At 176/165kg he's a stocky bulldozer, who while on the slower side exerts impressive power with yotsu and oshi sumo.

Ogtonbat: The 6'6 Toyo giant has become one of the competitors to watch this year, not quite there with most of the others listed, but with improving results that have seen him make national semifinals and quarterfinals. Still needs refining and underperformed at the All-Japan student championship, but has the time to improve.

Tottori corporate duo of Sosorufu and Matsui: Both former standouts for Tottori Johoku, they have taken off rapidly as corporate competitors, only at 19 years old I believe. Each made the best 8 at the Kokutai to earn Ms60TD, when most competitors that age don't come close. Matsui is a very fast oshi specialist, Sosorufu a bit like a shorter Hoshoryu. I'm not sure what their plans are - going straight from high school to corporate sumo is very rare for standout high schoolers, some obvious examples notwithstanding. 

Daiki Nishide: The former middle school yokozuna and this year's high school yokozuna. Still just in his second year, went unbeaten in the prelims, including a win over Goshima (who then slapped him down in the knockouts). Basic, but strong and stable sumo, performing beyond his years.

Edited by Katooshu
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The Tottori johoku duo - Sosorkhuu best 16

20231204s00005000195000p_thum.jpgo

Matsui made it to the final, won in the first round against Hanaoka but lost in the best 32

20231204s00005000196000p_thum.jpgo

 

primary school

Winner for the 3rd year in a row, this time 6th year Okayama (Aomori, 183cm, 140kg), final like each year against Sasaki (Akita), first time the same pair for all 3 years at this tournament. Okayama is the 5th to win all 3 years, the others are former makushita and the last was the big Touma, who only reached sandanme - not very promising for his future (Isegahama or Ajigawa - or Nishiiwa) - 6th years tournament video from Tekkan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpvVnHQkDlM

img_6daa9f96862433ce606648c84b86b63f336824.jpgo20231204s00005000203000p_thum.jpgoimg_2da68c2a4327cef578831c5c69d18bbf574117.jpgo

 

4th year 3rd Miyahara from Okinawa o

img_d73a1b3fdc611586946625889904f51f2763

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48 minutes ago, Katooshu said:

183/140kg in 6th grade (Eek...)

" ... and father of two ... "

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Ikeda reported his yusho on the 4th to the local Hokkoku shimbun and named as his goal a 2nd yusho next year plus corporate yokozuna

img_2de3466e7c785ca0859d81028a97b7bc166683.jpgo

after that at the sumo club of Kanazawa gakuin university high school

img_258c0e8b511096053d8bec69925554362498o

primary school from Tekkan (better quality than the stream)

4th year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4TqmGXfDqQ

5th year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMm590xbzKE

 

13 hours ago, Katooshu said:

183/140kg in 6th grade (Eek...)

When I saw his pics, I thought they were from the adults competition

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183cm/140kg 6th grade primary school yokozuna Okayama from the Goshogawara sumo club yesterday at the 1st Wakansato cup won the yusho in the 5th/6th grade category, in the final against 5th grade girls national wampaku-zumo yusho winner Kokoro Niida

img_e0b4b0a80d69c0fb679253a5c8c1a6103000o

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Thought I'd do a medal table for the All Japan winners and their teams. The numbers are how many wins, runner-ups and semi-finals they have (I tried using html codes to make a table, but that didn't work). Incidentally, Shun Ikeda's win this year was the first time ever that a wrestler representing Kanazawa Gakuin University finished in the Top 4.

Rikishi Medal Table

1. Seiichi Taira (Hyogo): 4-1-1
2. Hidetoshi Tanaka (Nichidai -> Tokyo): 3-4-2
3
. Norihiro Nomi (Wakayama): 3-3-1
4. Yutaka Nunome (Tokyo): 3-0-0
5. Keiji Tamiya / Kotomitsuki (Tottori Johoku -> Nichidai): 2-1-1

Team Medal Table

1. Nichidai: 14-12-19
2. Tokyo: 9-12-22
3
. Hyogo: 5-3-8
4. Nittaidai: 5-2-7
5. Kindai: 4-2-6

Edited by mikawa
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