Ozeki Tochinoshin suffered his first loss at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Friday, leaving sekiwake Mitakeumi the only wrestler at the meet with a perfect record.
In the day's final bout at Dolphins Arena, Tochinoshin (5-1) suffered a shock defeat to komusubi Tamawashi (3-3). The newly promoted ozeki pushed his opponent toward the edge and held onto his mawashi belt with both hands, but Tamawashi wrapped his arm around the Georgian and threw him down.
(Mitakeumi, right, defeats Shodai)
Mitakeumi (6-0) showcased his strength in a one-sided win against top-ranked maegashira Shodai (1-5). The sekiwake held onto his opponent's belt, pulled him toward the edge and gave him a final push.
Mitakeumi, who climbed back to sekiwake after fighting in May as a komusubi, had lost three straight bouts against Shodai this year. But Friday's win improved Mitakeumi's record against the maegashira to 6-6.
The sixth day of the 15-day tournament opened without a single grand champion in competition. Earlier in the day, Mongolian yokozuna Kakuryu pulled out due to right-elbow injury, joining Kisenosato and Hakuho on the disabled list.
Goeido (4-2) and Takayasu (4-2) are both fighting as demotion-threatened ozeki. No. 3 Abi (2-4), who beat Kakuryu the previous day, almost pushed Goeido out of the ring, but the ozeki stayed calm and threw the maegashira down. Takayasu was defeated by No. 3 Takakeisho (3-3).
The two "kadoban" ozeki need at least eight wins here to maintain their status at the next grand tournament in September.
Among seven wrestlers who started the day with one loss, four maintained their position and remain one win behind the lead.
Fan favorite Endo (5-1) beat Brazilian maegashira Kaisei (4-2) to stay one back. The two wrestlers began the day with 4-1 records, but No. 4 Kaisei slipped and fell backwards after No. 6 Endo pushed him by the neck.
No. 5 Yoshikaze (0-6), who competed as sekiwake in two meets last year, is the only wrestler here who has not won a single bout after losing to No. 5 Daishomaru (2-4).
