Hakuho still in charge on 12th day at autumn sumo
TOKYO —
Mongolian grand champion Hakuho put himself within spitting distance of his career eighth Emperor’s Cup on Thursday, disposing of ozeki Chiyotaikai in dramatic fashion for an 11th win at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament. In the day’s final bout, Chiyotaikai (7-5) grabbed Hakuho by the throat and did his best to rush him over the straw bales, only for the yokozuna to deploy a leaping underarm throw to send his opponent toppling onto his back.
Hakuho maintained his lead over ozeki Kotomitsuki and Mongolian sekiwake Ama, who trail with 10-2 records with three days remaining in the 15-day Tokyo meet. Kotomitsuki remained hot on the yokozuna’s heels with a demolition of Toyohibiki (7-5) in the penultimate bout, pulling the No. 6 maegashira to the dirt surface with a shoulder technique. Ama, meanwhile, stayed in contention, deflecting the charge of Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu (6-6) after the face-off and shoving his opponent out in a matter of seconds. Goeido, a No. 5 maegashira, became the victim of an unlucky false start and was sent down for a face full of dirt in the rematch against veteran ozeki Kaio (8-4) to suffer a third defeat to see his slim title hopes all but shattered.
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5 Comments
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Sarge
I actually found somebody to bet 1000 yen on Chiyotaikai! Hee hee!
Go, Ama!
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some14some
Single parent Basho, Hakuho will go on climbing raku raku !
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Ruger
Kotomitsuki still has a chance, so does Ama, OK, I'm dreaming, but sometimes dreams come true. LOL
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flawlex
This is going to be Hakuho's title, no doubt.
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cow76
Yep, Hakuho has it in the bag. He would have to lose a match plus Ama/Kotomitsuki win all three of their remaining matches and that's just to reach a play-off. Good to see Japanese wrestlers still can't win a tourney.
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