Bulgarian Kotooshu brushed aside Hokutoriki yesterday to move a step closer to his first Emperor's Cup heading into the final three days of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
Kotooshu, who is making his sekiwake debut, wasted little time when he got a grip of Hokutoriki's belt at the center of the ring and threw the No. 7 maegashira down to improve to a perfect 12-0. Hokutoriki dropped to 7-5.
In the day's final bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Mongolian grand champion Asashoryu bounced back from an upset defeat on Wednesday and dispatched No. 6 maegashira Kotoshogiku with an arm throw to improve to 10-2. Kotoshogiku fell to 7-5.
Kotooshu will face Asashoryu today with a chance to eliminate Asashoryu. Lower-ranked grappler Kisenosato would still be in the running with a win over Kyokutenho today.
Mongolian Kyokutenho, a third-ranked maegashira, used a textbook arm throw to send compatriot Hakuho sprawling to the dirt surface.
Kyokutenho improved to 8-4 while top maegashira Hakuho fell to 7-5.
In an earlier bout, Kisenosato, a No. 16 maegashira, fought off an arm throw by Roho at the edge of the ring and shoved the tenth-ranked maegashira out to stay in the hunt while improving to 10-2. Russian Roho fell to 7-5.
Chiyotaikai, who has already wrapped up the winning record he needs to maintain his ozeki status, used a barrage of arm thrusts to send fellow ozeki Tochiazuma over the edge.
Chiyotaikai improved to 9-3 while Tochiazuma dropped to 8-4.
Elsewhere, No. 2 maegashira Kakizoe came charging out of the blocks and shoved komusubi Kotomitsuki out in a matter of seconds to improve to 4-8.
Kotomitsuki, who was slow on the faceoff, fell to 7-5.
No. 5 maegashira Aminishiki came back down to earth after upsetting Asashoryu on Wednesday when he was shoved out by ninth-ranked Takekaze. Both wrestlers stand at 6-6.
No. 2 maegashira Kokkai of Georgia continues to struggle and was muscled out by Dejima to fall to an unflattering record of 2-10. Dejima, a No. 3 maegashira, improved to 4-8.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB