"I am happy hearing that I might get promoted, "I have to focus on the results. I think I still have a lot of work to do for the next tournament:" Kotonowaka
At the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, lone yokozuna Terunofuji defeated joint leaderboard Kotonowaka in an exciting championship playoff to win his seventh top-division title.
After promotion-seeking sekiwake Kotonowaka upset ozeki Kirishima at the top of the leaderboard in their much awaited Day 14 encounter at Ryogoku Kokugikan, the two began the final day equal for first place at 12-2.
After ozeki Hoshoryu (10-4-1) was forced to retire due to injury, Kotonowaka became the first player to secure his spot in the playoffs by defeating No. 4 maegashira Tobizaru (7-8). As a result, Kirishima lost his chance to defend his title and his attempt to move up to yokozuna was put on hold.
The final scheduled battle of the 15-day competition saw Terunofuji maintain his career dominance over fellow Mongolian-born grappler Kirishima (11-4), lifting him up and pushing him straight out to move to 11-0 in their head-to-head meetings.
Two days prior, Terunofuji had defeated Kotonowaka, thus in the playoffs, he went right after the sekiwake's belt. Before giving in to a force out, Kotonowaka fought back and forth with the yokozuna, refusing to back down.
"It appears like he is growing more powerful. In the fight, I was able to sense that," Terunofuji remarked of Kotonowaka.
Kotonowaka may be disappointed that he did not win his first Emperor's Cup, but at least he will be relieved to have been promoted to the second tier of ozeki.
By finishing with a 13-2 record, the 26-year-old son of former sekiwake Kotonowaka and grandson of former yokozuna Kotozakura met the unofficial promotion benchmark of 33 victories over three consecutive tournaments as a komusubi or sekiwake.
"I am happy hearing that I might get promoted," Kotonowaka said. "I have to really focus on the results. I think I still have a lot of work to do for the next tournament."
In light of growing health issues that have drastically restricted his time in the ring, 32-year-old Terunofuji's performance is another victory.
The eight Emperor's Cup was won by the grand champion in May of last year. He had missed the previous three events due to recovery from double knee surgery.
Although his knees seemed to heal nicely, he was forced to miss the final three 2023 matches due to back problems from a training accident.
"I was able to overcome that, even though the injuries hurt," Terunofuji remarked. "The younger wrestlers are all getting stronger and chasing them is something that I really enjoy."
After defeating former ozeki Asanoyama, who finished as a No. 7 with a 9-3-3 record despite missing four days due to an ankle ailment, Sekiwake Daieisho moved to 9-6.
After ending his outstanding top-division debut at 11-4 with a victory over seasoned No. 10 Tamawashi (8-7), No. 15 Onosato was awarded the Fighting Spirit Prize. Up until the final stages of the competition, the 23-year-old former amateur sensation was vying for the crown and was pitted against highly regarded opponents.
"I was able to get double-digit wins so I was really happy," Onosato stated. "I didn't imagine what would happen throughout this tournament, but I was able to get really good experience."
Performing arts komusubi In the three elite sanyaku ranks below yokozuna, Ura achieved his first basho at 6-9 when he defeated No. 5 Ryuden (3-12) with an amazing underarm forward body drop.
First place Wakamotoharu's 10-5 record, which included victories over Terunofuji and several other sanyaku opponents, secured his return to sanyaku and earned him his first Outstanding Performance Award.
End//voice7news.tv
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