Sumo: 40-yr-old Tamawashi topples Onosato as Ichiyamamoto keeps lead
Mongolian-born No. 4 maegashira Tamawashi (8-2) was kept on the back foot against Onosato (7-3) but showed great tenacity belying his age to never surrender full control before thrusting down the yokozuna debutant at the edge for a historic "kinboshi" win at IG Arena.
"It feels great," said the two-time Emperor's Cup winner and former sekiwake Tamawashi, who continues to rewrite his own record of 1,700-plus consecutive appearances since his March 2004 debut.
"I was filled with excitement heading into this bout (against Onosato). I still have a lot left in me."
Onosato has handed out three kinboshi during the current meet, tying the worst record for a yokozuna debutant.
A day after taking the outright lead, Ichiyamamoto (9-1) continued his scintillating form by pushing down former sekiwake Meisei (3-7). Having backed off slightly at the start, Ichiyamamoto went on the offensive and kept driving at the No. 5 maegashira en route to a morale-boosting win.
Five wrestlers joined Tamawashi in improving to 8-2 and securing a winning record at the 15-day meet, with sekiwake Kirishima ranked the highest. The former ozeki found a tiny opening to grab hold of lively No. 5 maegashira Hiradoumi (5-5) in a frontal-crush-out win.
Ukrainian Aonishiki beat Kazakhstani Kinbozan (2-8) to stay in the title race as the No. 1 maegashira's timely pull-down attempt had his No. 3-ranked opponent touching the sand with both hands seconds into the contest.
"It wasn't the best of bouts but I'm happy to have secured a winning record," said Aonishiki, who went 11-4 in his first two tournaments at the elite makuuchi division. "My body is moving well so it's been good so far."
Top-division debutant Kusano (8-2) had a hard bout against trickster Ura (6-4), who scurried around the raised ring in the face of the No. 14 maegashira's pressure, but he eventually pushed the No. 9 maegashira out from behind to secure a winning record for the 15-day tournament.
No. 15 maegashira Kotoshoho and No. 16 maegasihra Mitakeumi, a former ozeki, also won their bouts to keep up the pressure on Ichiyamamoto.
Ozeki Kotozakura (5-5) slumped to his third straight defeat, meanwhile, after getting outlasted and forced out by Wakatakakage (6-4) in a long, grueling encounter.
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Given that, when Takerufuji managed that exact feat in March 2024 he became the first debutant to win the title in over a century, Morita's prediction seemed outlandish at the time. Ten days later that's not the case, and Kusano has a viable path to history over the next five days if he can keep his hot streak going. Kirishima, meanwhile, not only has legitimate hopes of claiming a third title but also an outside chance of making it back to ōzeki should he do so. With a perfect run-in for the veteran adding up to a combined 32 wins over three tournaments — it's a score that would appear to be slightly short of the oft-cited mark of 33. That's not an official guideline, however, and sumo has just one ōzeki currently. A third Emperor's Cup for a former ōzeki could swing things in Kirishima's favor. However things turn out, a tournament that started in a disappointing manner heads into the final stretch with a range of exciting possible outcomes.
