Grand Sumo 2025 May Tournament Day9

Onosato Handles Ura with Composure and Control

Even when there is a clear gap in ability, there were two key things Onosato needed to be mindful of today:

1. Ura often lowers his head at the tachiai, tempting his opponent to push down on it and pull straight back—something to avoid.

2. Using that momentum, Ura might look to stage a last-minute reversal at the edge of the dohyō, especially if his opponent tries to force him out too quickly without securing a grip on the mawashi.

Onosato understood this well. He didn't recklessly charge forward, nor did he pull straight back. Instead, he applied steady pressure, pivoted smoothly, Ura before okuridashi (sending out from behind) him with precision.

I had thought from the beginning that Ura’s brand of sumo wouldn’t work against the current form of Onosato—and sure enough, it didn’t trouble him in the slightest.

Ichiyamamoto’s sumo style is almost a carbon copy of Abi’s—fast-paced morote-zuki (two-handed thrusts) from the tachiai. Last tournament, he even defeated Hoshoryu. Given that Hoshoryu has lost to Abi in two consecutive tournaments, Ichiyamamoto must have been an opponent he was not eager to face.

As expected, Ichiyamamoto came in with a morote-zuki tachiai just like Abi. However, Hoshoryu calmly caught and pull his right arms, turned him sideways, seized the initiative, and finished him off with a smooth hataki-komi (slap down).

Perhaps Ichiyamamoto's thrusts didn’t have quite the same explosive force as Abi’s, but either way, Hoshoryu took control and never looked in danger.

Wakatakakage Falls Into Abi’s Trap, Just Like Hoshoryu

Coming into the bout, Abi held a slight edge in their head-to-head record—five wins to Wakatakakage’s four—and it’s clear that Abi is a difficult matchup for him.

Abi’s right-handed thrusts are especially powerful, and had Wakatakakage used his left hand to brace against Abi’s right elbow or upper arm from underneath—effectively pushing up and neutralizing the thrusts—the bout might have played out very differently.

Since Day 2, Aonishiki has been executing the same style of sumo with almost mechanical precision, racking up eight straight victories.

Known as a sumo enthusiast, Aonishiki reportedly studies past and present wrestlers extensively—especially smaller rikishi—by repeatedly watching videos on YouTube and DVDs owned by his stablemaster.

Among current wrestlers, he holds Wakatakakage in high regard. When asked about facing him tomorrow, Aonishiki said , “I’m happy. It feels like I’ve finally made it here.”

Japanese version of this article here.

https://kimitoshikoyanagi.blogspot.com/2025/05/79.html

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