No. 3 maegashira Tamawashi handed yokozuna Terunofuji his second defeat at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Thursday, and joined No. 8 Hokutofuji and No. 13 Oho as the only unbeaten wrestlers after five days.
Tamawashi, who had defeated Terunofuji in three straight meets before losing in July in Nagoya, landed fierce blows to the yokozuna's throat with both hands in the day's final bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Terunofuji weathered the storm but Tamawashi immediately swung the grand champion with a right beltless arm throw and kept up the pressure en route to a force-out win.
"I wanted to keep driving forward but knew I had to seal things quickly as soon as my forward momentum stopped," said the 37-year-old Tamawashi, who won five straight from the first day for his first time in the top-tier makuuchi division.
Hokutofuji overpowered Kotoeko (1-4) in a push-out win over the No. 9 rank-and-filer, while Oho, the grandson of the late yokozuna Taiho, whose 32 championships are second-most in history, shoved out No. 15 Terutsuyoshi (1-4) with ease.
Wakamotoharu (4-1) lost his perfect record as he succumbed to No. 4 Takayasu (4-1). The No. 6 maegashira's thrusting attack failed to generate enough momentum to bother the bigger, former ozeki and was pushed out on a counter.
Ozeki Takakeisho (4-1) won his fourth straight bout to stay close to the leaders, trading shoves with Meisei (2-3) before timing a left-handed swipe well to thrust down the No. 2 rank-and-filer.
Hoshoryu (4-1) used a left-handed slap to stun fellow sekiwake Daieisho (1-4) at the start en route to a quick push-out win.
No. 3 Ura (3-2) came into the day on the back of three straight wins but was dispatched in seconds by Mitakeumi (3-2), the demotion-threatened ozeki advancing with ease and pushing the trickster down at the edge to end a two-bout losing streak.
Ozeki Shodai (1-4) offered little resistance as he was pushed out straight away by No. 2 Kotonowaka (2-3), falling to his fourth straight defeat as he again began a meet in a low-spirited fashion.
Sekiwake Wakatakakage (2-3) needed time but forced out No. 1 Tobizaru (2-3), while Kiribayama (3-2) outlasted fellow komusubi and July meet champion Ichinojo (2-3) to grapple him out in an even longer bout.
Related coverage:
Sumo: Yokozuna Terunofuji survives scrape to remain 1 win back
Sumo: Former yokozuna Hakuho to hold retirement ceremony in January
Sumo: July champ Ichinojo rejoins elite in new rankings
