No. 1 maegashira Wakamotoharu was the man of the hour on a day of surprises Tuesday, the third day of the 15-day New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, when sumo's top four wrestlers were all put under the gun.
A day after taking down yokozuna Terunofuji, Wakamotoharu (2-1) bounced back from a weak opening to drive ozeki Takakeisho from the ring to his first defeat at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Forced back on the opening charge from sumo's pushing-and-thrusting master, Wakamotoharu countered, driving the ozeki back the way he came. When Takakeisho tried and failed to shove him aside, Wakamotoharu thrust him out.
"I'm not taking anything for granted," said Wakamotoharu, who last year failed in his effort at promotion to sumo's second highest rank of ozeki.
"Last year taught me a lot about what I lacked as a wrestler, and now I'm trying to put those lessons to good use."
Yokozuna Terunofuji (2-1), who is returning to duty for the first time since injuries forced him to withdraw from July's grand tournament, had to fight for his life in a wild win over No. 2 Abi (0-3).
The maegashira shot past the yokozuna when an attempted shove missed its mark, but Terunofuji failed to take advantage of his golden opportunity. Abi twice slipped away but another missed shove left him off balance, allowing the yokozuna to finally nudge him from the ring.
Yokozuna-hopeful Kirishima and fellow ozeki Hoshoryu were also put under severe pressure before securing their third wins.
Kirishima left himself vulnerable when he failed to pull down hard-charging No. 1 Atamifuji at the get-go, but pushed his opponent out when the winless maegashira fumbled his advantage.
Hoshoryu recovered from a losing position to defeat Ura (0-3). With his back to the straw, the ozeki demonstrated great strength and skill to throw the tricky komusubi over backward to defeat.
Sekiwake Kotonowaka (3-0) had an easy time against No. 2 Midorifuji (0-3), while sekiwake Daieisho fell to his first loss, pushed out after a perfectly timed shove from No. 3 Hokutofuji (2-1) knocked him stumbling backward across the ring.
Related coverage:
Sumo: Komusubi Takayasu withdraws at New Year meet
Sumo: Injury returnee Terunofuji loses to Wakamotoharu on Day 2
