Grand Sumo 2026 March Tournament Day 2

Aonishiki suffered a loss to Yoshinofuji, dropping to one defeat.

Given the nature of their previous meetings, I had expected Yoshinofuji to be a major hurdle for Aonishiki, so the result itself did not come as much of a surprise.

Aonishiki created the body position to attempt an uchi-musō ( inner thigh propping twist down), but Yoshinofuji drove forward from the right, almost scooping him up with sheer force. It was very similar to the way Atamifuji attacked in the championship playoff last tournament. However, unlike Atamifuji, he was unable to drive Aonishiki all the way back to the tawara (edge of the ring).

Instead, Yoshinofuji disrupted Aonishiki’s balance with a throw from the left and continued driving forward. There was clear ingenuity in that sequence. In particular, it was good that he did not hesitate after the uwate-dashi-nage (pulling over armthrow), immediately continuing the attack without giving Aonishiki time to recover.

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