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No. 6 maegashira Takanosho upset new ozeki Onosato on Wednesday to remain in a three-way title race after 11 days of action at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament.
Former sekiwake Takanosho (10-1) moved to his left at the opening clash and followed with a right-handed shove to the throat to unbalance Autumn meet champion Onosato (7-4), who was easily pushed out at Fukuoka Kokusai Center.
“The ozeki is immensely strong when he comes straight at me, so I instantly changed my position a little. I thought about going head-on but got scared a bit,” said Takanosho, who has never won an Emperor’s Cup, “There’s some sense of elation in beating the ozeki, but I’m calm.”
Takanosho (R) beats Onosato on the 11th day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament at Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Nov. 20, 2024. (Kyodo)
The two other ozeki, Kotozakura and Hoshoryu, won their respective bouts to keep pace at the top. Kotozakura was driven back slightly, but quickly powered his way forward to push out komusubi Wakamotoharu (6-5) with little trouble.
Hoshoryu faced a trickier test from Daieisho (6-5) as the sekiwake matched the ozeki’s nimble footwork. But Hoshoryu seized his one chance to grab a belt hold that kept the pusher-thruster squarely to his front and allowed him to be pushed out.
No. 3 maegashira Abi (8-3) took a step back from the race when his early pull-down attempt against Onokatsu (8-3) failed, and the the No. 15 maegashira shoved him out instead.
No. 16 Takerufuji (8-3) also fell two wins off the pace after his ill-timed pull-down attempt allowed No. 8 maegashira Gonoyama (8-3) to push him out.
In a rare spectacle, No. 2 maegashira Ura (3-8) and No. 1 maegashira Hiradoumi (1-10) needed two rematches to determine a winner. The pair landed beyond the straw bales simultaneously in their first two bouts.
After the second rematch was ordered, Ura could barely contain a grin before sealing victory with an emphatic push down.
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Sumo: Ozeki Kotozakura, Hoshoryu maintain share of lead on Day 8