Grand champion Asashoryu recovered from an early scare Wednesday to defeat Miyabiyama and maintain a perfect record on the 11th day of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
Fighting in the day's final bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Asashoryu was forced back to the edge by Miyabiyama shortly after the face-off and appeared headed for his first loss of the 15-day tourney.
But the feisty Mongolian quickly turned the tables on Miyabiyama and forced the stocky sekiwake out over the edge to improve to 11-0. Miyabiyama dropped to 3-9.
Heading into the last four days of the 15-day tournament, Asashoryu leads ozeki Chiyotaikai by two wins, while Tochiazuma and Kotomitsuki are three wins off the pace at 8-3.
After a false start, Chiyotaikai overwhelmed the smaller Asasekiryu at the face-off and shoved the No. 4 maegashira out to pick up his ninth against two losses. Asaekiryu dropped to 5-6.
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