Kisenosato suffers loss

Kisenosato fluffed his lines against Tochiozan Thursday and had his overnight lead trimmed to one win going into the final three days of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.

The ozeki looked out of sorts in the day's featured bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan, allowing fourth-ranked maegashira Tochiozan to seize the initiative with a series of shoves and send him backpedaling out to a second defeat.

Victory, meanwhile, kept alive Tochiozan's own title hopes as it moved him to 9-3 alongside veteran maegashira Kyokutenho.

"I am glad I was able to stay patient and keep attacking," said Tochiozan. "I just tried to keep getting forward."

Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho and ozeki trio Kakuryu, Baruto and Kotoshogiku are among nine wrestlers tied another win back.

Kisenosato faces his toughest test of the meet so far when he takes on Hakuho on Friday.

In other bouts, Bulgarian Kotooshu put a dent in Baruto's championship aspirations, when he forced out the Estonian giant in an all-ozeki battle, improving his own mark to 7-5.

Kakuryu, secured a winning record on his ozeki debut, sending fellow Mongolian Harumafuji out from behind to a sixth loss.

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Kisenosato continues march toward victory

Kisenosato took a big step toward becoming the first Japanese-born winner in over six years Wednesday, beating fellow ozeki Kakuryu on the second attempt to move two wins clear of the field heading into the final stretch of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.

Kisenosato, promoted to sumo's second-highest rank after the Kyushu meet last November, and Kakuryu (7-4) had to go through a rematch after both were deemed by ringside judges to have hit the dirt at the same time in their initial clash at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

But Kisenosato took the initiative in the rerun, putting Kakuryu on the back foot from the tachi-ai and bulldozing him over the straw bales.

Kisenosato improved to 10-1 and got some breathing room as the trio of rank-and-filers trailing one win behind at the start of the day — Tochiozan, Tamawashi, Takarafuji — went down like dominoes.

Now retired Tochiazuma was the last Japanese-born wrestler to win a championship title, at the New Year basho in 2006.

Sixteenth-ranked Takarafuji was forced out by eighth-ranked Tochinoshin (6-5), No. 15 Tamawashi was overpowered by veteran Mongolian Kyokutenho and fourth-ranked Tochiozan bit the dust when he was taken out with an under-shoulder swing down by sekiwake Toyonoshima (6-5).

Ozeki Baruto, Kotoshogiku, Kyokutenho and 11th-ranked Shotenro are also in an eight-way tie at 8-3.

In other bouts back in the upper echelons of the makuuchi division, lone yokozuna Hakuho (7-4), wrestling with a fractured left index finger, had too much savvy for Kotooshu (6-5) and floored the Bulgarian ozeki.

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Ozeki Kisenosato wins to stay among leaders

Ozeki Kisenosato outlasted Gagamaru to maintain his share of the lead, while yokozuna Hakuho stayed in touch with the early pacesetters with a third win at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday.

Kisenosato had to dig deep into his energy reserves but still had too much gumption for the Georgian No. 2 maegashira, forcing him over the straw bales to preserve his prefect start. Gagamaru dropped to 1-3.

Kisenosato, fellow ozeki Kotoshogiku and three lower-ranked wrestlers improved to 4-0 on a day when Estonian Baruto was the only one among the six ozeki to bite the dust at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Hakuho, who lost his opening bout on Sunday, slapped down No. 2 maegashira Myogiryu (1-3) to take another step toward his 23rd Emperor's Cup.

Baruto (3-1), though, returned to the locker room shaking his head after getting mugged at the edge of the ring by Aminishiki (2-2), who prevailed with a pulling overarm throw to claim his second major scalp after opening the meet with an upset win over Hakuho.

"I was able to get a quick attack going. It's a nice feeling (to beat both Hakuho and Baruto)," said Aminishiki. "I just have to keep on giving it my best shot."

Harumafuji (3-1) showed nifty footwork and toppled top-ranked Takayasu (0-4) with a textbook "kotenage" armlock throw and fellow Mongolian Kakuryu (3-1) finally dismantled Toyonoshima (2-2) after an entertaining slugfest in the next bout.

Kakuryu who flirted with a championship at the spring tourney in March before losing to yokozuna Hakuho in a playoff, is fighting in his first tournament as ozeki. He is the first wrestler to attain the rank since Kisenosato secured promotion at the Kyushu basho last November.

Ozeki Kotooshu (2-2) returned to winning ways after back-to-back defeats against Goeido and Toyohibiki, the Bulgarian getting a firm grip on the front of winless Takekaze's mawashi and charging him out of the dohyo.

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Kisenosato overpowers Miyabiyama

Ozeki debutant Kisenosato continued his impressive performance at sumo's second-highest rank, cutting down Miyabiyama in a powerful display on the third day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday.

Kisenosato was not fazed in the slightest by Miyabiyama, who stood up once as a delaying tactic before the pair locked horns at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

The Naruto stable ozeki went on full blast to charge Miyabiyama out with a barrage of shoves, moving to 3-0 to feature in a leading pack of 11 wrestlers, including yokozuna Hakuho, in the early going of the 15-day meet.

Miyabiyama, back at sumo's fourth rank of komusubi, dropped to his third loss in a row.

"The timing was off before the face-off. But I thought my opponent would try to throw me off anyway," said Kisenosato, who gained promotion after the Kyushu meet last November.

Hakuho, who is seeking his third consecutive championship and 22nd career title, got his left hand inside on Aminishiki and showed the winless top-ranked maegashira an abrupt exit with a hard shove to the chest in the day's finale.

A title would place the lone Mongolian yokozuna in a tie with former yokozuna Takanohana for fifth on the all-time list.

"He is a skillful wrestler so I took a good look at him at the charge. I want to make sure that I'm in sync in my bout and I kept that in mind," Hakuho said of Aminishiki, who also tried to stall for time before their bout got under way.

Ozeki Kotoshogiku (2-1), who bounced back from an opening day defeat a day earlier, wasted little effort on Okinoumi (0-3) as he got his right hand inside for a healthy grip on the mawashi before escorting him over the straw bales in dominant fashion.

Estonian behemoth Baruto (3-0) was backed to the edge by Goeido (0-3) but deployed an iron-clad armbar throw to send his opponent toppling to the dohyo.

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Kisenosato, Hakuho roll; Kotoshogiku falls at New Year basho

Newly promoted ozeki Kisenosato tossed aside Goeido to get off to a high-octane start, Kotoshogiku took a first-day spill and yokozuna Hakuho was his usual dominant self on the opening day of the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday.

Kisenosato kept his eyes transfixed on Goeido as he blasted him with a torrent of shoves before sending his opponent fleeing over the edge at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

But Kotoshogiku, promoted to sumo's No. 2 rank after the autumn basho last year, never got rolling against Takekaze who slapped the ozeki down immediately after the face-off.

"I lost to Goeido at the last meet (in Kyushu) last year, so I just wanted to make sure my opponent never got inside for an attack," said Kisenosato, who got the green light for ozeki after the Kyushu basho. "I wasn't really that nervous. I just kept the pressure on him by pushing him down from above and stayed calm. This was a good start."

"Darn it! My sumo today was halfhearted," Kotoshogiku said. "I wasn't ready for the challenge and my body and mind were not in sync. I got ahead of myself when I should have been more relaxed."

After a tumultuous 2011 when sumo was mired in its worst-ever crisis due to a match-fixing scandal, the January meet kicked off to a packed house amidst much anticipation as the national sport attempts to clean up its tarnished image in 2012.

Although expectations are riding high with Kotoshogiku and Kisenosato having gained promotion, for the first time ever, there are no Japanese wrestlers amongst the 32 plaques of title winners draped around the auditorium.

Retired ozeki Tochiazuma's plaque from the 2006 New Year meet has been removed, leaving 20 of Mongolian Hakuho and the rest of other foreign wrestlers including former yokozuna Asashoryu, Mongolian Harumafuji and Bulgarian Kotooshu.

It's the first time since the 2010 summer basho that two Japanese ozeki are competing together, and fans are hoping one of them will be the first Japanese wrestler in six years to cart the coveted Emperor's Cup.

Hakuho, who is the strong favorite to match former yokozuna Takanohana with his 22nd career title, made mincemeat of Wakakoyu in the day's final bout, sending the new komusubi sprawling in a matter of seconds.

Asked for his thoughts on trying to tie Takanohana's record, Hakuho said, "This is just the start but of course I am thinking about it. If I put in the work I feel like I'll definitely be able to match it."

Harumafuji took care of Okinoumi in one swoop, getting his left hand inside for a tight grip on the mawashi before flinging his opponent over with an underarm throw.

Kotooshu unleashed a series of shoves against Aminishiki before getting both hands wrapped around the top-ranked maegashira and jolting his opponent over the ridge.

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