NAGOYA - Ukrainian star Aonishiki took another step toward ozeki repromotion Sunday at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, but his victory over No. 1 maegashira Takanosho may have come at a cost.
The 22-year-old sekiwake, whose demotion from the second-highest rank was sparked by foot and ankle injuries, grimaced in pain and limped from the ring after keeping a share of the lead at 7-1 with his closely fought win against former sekiwake Takanosho (3-5) by push out.
Ozeki Kirishima (7-1), meanwhile, maintained his grip on the top rung of the leaderboard by pushing out sekiwake Atamifuji (5-3) after withstanding a powerful opening charge from the giant Shizuoka Prefecture native on Day 8 at IG Arena.
Grand champion Hoshoryu (6-2) comfortably shoved out No. 4 maegashira Daieisho (5-3) to stay one win off the pace, while fellow yokozuna Onosato (5-3) blew away komusubi Oho (1-7), further allaying fears about his troubled left shoulder.
Aonishiki needs 10 wins for automatic repromotion after ankle trouble forced him to skip the entire May tournament, for which he was ranked as a demotion-threatened "kadoban" ozeki in the wake of his first losing record at the March meet while dealing with a fractured toe.
He faces a daunting battle with Onosato on Day 9. The five-time Emperor's Cup winner holds a 4-0 record in their head-to-head grand tournament meetings.
Current kadoban ozeki Kotozakura (4-4), who needs eight wins at the 15-day meet to avoid demotion, picked up a crucial victory against No. 3 maegashira Hiradoumi (1-7) by hand pull down.
No. 7 maegashira Kotoeiho and No. 14 maegashira Shishi both improved to 7-1 to create a four-way tie at the top of the leaderboard.
