Public League Leaderboard
Scores from Fantasizr.
Notable Maneuvers
Hikiotoshi. Hand. Pull. Down. Tobizaru sort of froze out Hoshoryu at the tachiai with an odd stutter grab. Then Tobizaru grabbed Hoshoryu's left arm and rather easily sent the Ozeki down and over.
Match of the Day
Neither Meisei nor Kotoshoho has been on form this September, but that created a fun match. Meisei seemed to have the advantage early, but as Kotoshoho got moving he recovered and returned the favor with action. That turned the match into a circle around the dohyo. Both men were flailing, fighting to stay balanced, and working to do something. It ended with Kotoshoho getting the pull down to win the match by a whisker. Sometimes the most entertaining sumo isn't the best sumo.
Recap
Kotozakura, Onosato, Kirishima,and Shodai kept rolling along on Day Four, and that quartet are the only undefeated rikishi. Kotozakura eased Atamifuji backwards. Onosato absorbed Daieisho's hardest shove, then pushed him straight backwards. Kirishima grabbed Mitakeumi's belt to get the yorikiri win. Shodai did his defensive style to turn aside Wakamotoharu. Don't expect any or maybe all of them to go 11-0 from here out, but they look like they can keep it going.
That also means there isn't a lower-Maegashira sitting undefeated early. The focus will be up top in this Aki basho. Sadanoumi, Bushozan, Nishikigi, and Takarafuji are all 3-1. They also all have been in some awkward fights. That's the theme of Aki, really. There were seven throws, pull-downs, and slap-downs on Day Four, including three hikiotoshis wins. That's a kimarite that indicates one rikishi is going sideways while the other one is going down. Aki has been that way, with rikishi sliding and falling while trying to engage in a match.
The best example of that was Ozeki Hoshoryu, who is having a bad basho so far. His loss to Tobizaru came from him not getting into the match, followed by Tobizaru taking advantage of his issues. Other rikishi will be looking to do the same, especially as he looks more mentally out of sorts than injured. Of course, he sat out the last two days of Nagoya, but he is moving okay. He can pull out, but he'd rather regroup and shoot for going 7-4 over his last 11 matches to avoid kadoban.
But he doesn't look like he'll seriously threaten Kotozakura, Onosato, or Kirishima. None of the three have been winning in overwhelming fashion, but they have won. They will be dancing around each other for awhile. The other 4-0 rikishi, Shodai, will begin moving through the Sanyaku ranks on Day 5 by facing Daieisho. He could turn the yusho race around very quickly. Likely, though, we will have high ranked men running through the second week battling for the Emperor's Cup.
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