Public League Leaderboard
Scores from Fantasizr.
Notable Maneuvers
Uwatenage. Tobizaru expertly read that Abi would come at him with a two-hand thrust--how ever did he get THAT scouting report?--and pushed the Sekiwake's hands away at the tachiai. From there, it was simple to use an over arm throw for the win.
Match of the Day
These two will hopefully have a long rivalry at the top of the Banzuke over the next few years, but right now it's been all Onosato. Looking for his first win in three head-to-head matchups, Atamifuji came out strong. He got his arms under Onosato's, standing the Sekiwake up. But then Onosato still had the strength to push Atamifuji back. So the Isegahama man turned the match around, looking like he'd dump Onosato out the back of the dohyo. Instead, Onosato got on one foot, hopped sideways, and slapped him down. They had a mono-ii, because it was such a close call. Gyoji's decision was confirmed, and we all get to marvel at something else from Onosato.
Recap
With Terunofuji out of the basho, the rest of Sanyaku has a great opportunity to put themselves ahead of the rest of the competition. Kotozakura looked like an Ozeki by taking Hiradoui's best, most frantic shot, then casually tossing him aside. The Scion of Sadogatake didn't even break much of a sweat. Onosato also looked like an Ozeki on Day One, even if his match was not quite as simple. You win a yusho by grabbing one or two matches you have no right winning. Onosato has one already.
Hoshoryu did not look like an Ozeki, despite being one. Takanosho was in a playoff for the yusho last time around, and he's a former Sekiwake. Losing to him is no shame, but Hoshoryu is an Ozeki and Takanosho is a Maegashira. Hoss should be winning these if he wants to make winning a yusho a little less complicated. And he didn't just lose, but Takanosho got the initial advantage at the tachiai and Hoshoryu didn't even really put up a strong defense.
He is also already one win behind Kotozakura, Onosato, and Kirishima already. Those three are the only Sanyaku wrestlers who earned a win on Day One, so the hole isn't Hoshoryu's alone. There are also fourteen more days of sumo to make up that small deficit. Overreacting to Day One is always a way to look ridiculous in two weeks time. Also, each match matters to a yusho race, and Hoshoryu (not to mention Abi, Takakeisho, and Daieisho) have already dropped one.
If we did want to overreact to Day One, and again that is often problematic, some rikishi gave some material to ponder over. Shirokuma looked impressive in his first match as a Maegashira, while Onokatsu faltered against Ryuden in his. Endo and Churanoumi look strong in mid-Maegashira, and Wakatakakage might face more difficulty in the middle of the Banzuke. Takakeisho's struggles did not stay in Nagoya.
Of course, everyone mentioned in the previous paragraph could get a different result on Day Two to change the picture. We only have one match for each rikishi to judge Aki performance. There is no good reason to get carried away with Day One's results. Just don't forget that they do matter in the end.
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