Lone yokozuna Terunofuji grabbed a share of first place by defeating sole overnight leader Kotonowaka on Friday at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament, setting the stage for a thrilling final weekend in Tokyo.
The Mongolian-born grand champion moved into a three-way tie at 11-2 with sekiwake Kotonowaka and ozeki Kirishima, who continued his bid for a second straight title and yokozuna promotion by beating fellow ozeki Hoshoryu on Day 13.
Terunofuji showed his championship pedigree in the day's final bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan, snaring Kotonowaka's arm and using an outside belt grip to force him over the edge.
The injury-plagued yokozuna has not completed a 15-day tournament since winning his eighth Emperor's Cup last May after sitting out three straight meets to recover from double knee surgery.
The 26-year-old Kotonowaka remains on the cusp of promotion to ozeki and needs two more wins to reach the unofficial benchmark of 33 wins over three consecutive tournaments as sekiwake or komusubi.
Kirishima won an intense grappling battle with Hoshoryu (10-3) that saw both Mongolian ozeki take a belt grip and jockey for position before the November champion executed a rarely seen ankle-kicking twist down. The result left the rivals deadlocked at eight wins apiece in their head-to-head meetings.
Sekiwake Daieisho (7-6) is still one victory short of a winning record after being thrust down by No. 5 maegashira Nishikigi (7-6).
No. 7 Asanoyama (8-2-3) clinched a winning record in his return from a four-day injury absence, dumping No. 3 Gonoyama (4-9) with an arm-lock throw. The former ozeki led the tournament before hurting his ankle on Day 8.
Earlier in the day, former sekiwake Wakatakakage ensured his return as sekitori, a member of sumo's top two divisions, by winning the third-tier makushita championship with a perfect 7-0 record. The one-time candidate for ozeki promotion underwent knee surgery after the March 2023 tournament and sat out the three subsequent meets.
Related coverage:
Sumo: Kotonowaka inches toward first championship with 11th win
Sumo: Kotonowaka stays in lead as Terunofuji, ozeki pair keep pace
Sumo: Sekiwake Kotonowaka takes sole lead over 5 closest rivals
