LONDON – Yokozuna Onosato and Hoshoryu, along with No. 15 maegashira Tobizaru, maintained a perfect record after four days of action at the Grand Sumo Tournament in London on Saturday, setting up an intriguing final day of the exhibition competition.
Both yokozuna defeated previously unbeaten komusubi in the penultimate round in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,400 at the Royal Albert Hall, where a playoff will determine the title winner on Sunday if two or more wrestlers finish with the same record.
Handed a tricky test against Aonishiki (3-1), Onosato quickly seized a right underarm belt hold as the Ukrainian star drove in low. The grand champion used the grip as well as his superior frame to good effect and convincingly forced out his fellow title contender.
Hoshoryu overcame former ozeki Takayasu (3-1) after their bouts opened with the pair trading shoves. The grand champion then seized his moment and stormed to a force-out win after Takayasu tried to spin his body away under pressure and dug himself a hole instead.
Tobizaru, whose ring-name translates as “flying monkey,” came out on top of a busy bout with sekiwake Kirishima (2-2). The rank-and-filer grabbed a deep, left underarm belt hold following a flurry of actions before throwing his opponent to the sand.
After this, the first visit to the British capital by the Japan Sumo Association in 34 years, the top-tier makuuchi-division wrestlers are set to visit Paris for a two-day tournament in June.
BY: The Times Union – KYODO