A day after clinching his first championship, Tochinoshin finished the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday by dispatching fan-favorite Endo and finishing with a 14-1 record.

Tochinoshin, a third-ranked maegashira, survived a scare when he was pushed towards the edge, but he pulled himself together to force Endo (9-6) out at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.

For his achievements, the Kasugano stable's new hero received his first Outstanding Performance prize and his second Technique prize, his first since the May meet in 2016. The 30-year-old became the first wrestler to win two prizes in a single meet since the 2015 Autumn tourney.

"I clinched the championship yesterday, but wanted to finish the basho with a win so I'm glad," Tochinoshin said. "It's been 12 years since I entered the sport, but I never thought I could win a championship."

Tochinoshin's sole loss came on Day 7 against grand champion Kakuryu, who threw ozeki Goeido (8-7) to snap a four-match losing streak and finish at 11-4.

Kakuryu, whose career was clouded by injuries last year, was able to complete a meet for the first time since March. He was the only grand champion remaining in the tournament after Hakuho and Kisenosato pulled out due to injury.

The final day of the elite makuuchi division opened with an apology by Japan Sumo Association chairman Hakkaku over the scandals that have rocked the ancient sport, including an assault that led to the retirement of grand champion Harumafuji in November.

"We apologize to the sumo fans for worrying them since the end of last year," said Hakkaku. "The JSA will make a serious effort to prevent these incidents from happening again."

The chairman had been criticized for failing to include an apology in his greeting to fans on the tournament's first day.

No. 16 Ryuden and No. 14 Abi each earned a Fighting Spirit prize for finishing 10-5 in his top-tier debut, although Ryuden lost to No. 9 Chiyomaru (9-6) on the final day.

After a "matta" false start by No. 9 Shohozan (9-6), the 23-year-old Abi showed his confidence against the 33-year-old former komusubi. Abi shoved his opponent toward the edge, and as Shohozan turned around, the Shikoroyama stable wrestler gave him a final push.

"I was really nervous before the matta, but I was able to calm down because of it," Abi said. "Everything went so well to the point of it getting scary."

Ozeki Takayasu won his bout against sekiwake Mitakeumi (8-7) and completed the basho with a 12-3 record, his best since he first wrestled at sumo's second-highest rank in July.