NAGOYA - The 15-day Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament entered its second week Sunday with the number of leaders trimmed from seven to four, but concern mounted when sekiwake Aonishiki, among the four, appeared to injure himself and limped from the ring after his victory
Here is a digest of the eight days of action.
Day 1: Returning yokozuna Onosato loses on Nagoya meet opening day
Sunday, July 12 - Onosato fell to a worrying opening day defeat while his fellow returning grand champion, Hoshoryu, triumphed as the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament began on Sunday.
Day 2: Yokozuna Onosato slumps to 0-2 with upset loss to Fujinokawa
Monday, July 13 - Grand champion Onosato suffered his second straight defeat to start the tournament on Monday, losing to tricky No. 1 maegashira Fujinokawa by thrust down.
Fellow yokozuna Hoshoryu, meanwhile, improved to 2-0 at the 15-day tournament in impressive fashion, hurling No. 1 maegashira Takanosho (1-1) to the clay with a beltless arm throw after the former sekiwake followed a strong opening collision with a thrusting attack.
Day 3: Onosato pushes out Takanosho for 1st win following horror 0-2 start
Tuesday, July 14 - Onosato notched his first win of the tournament following a nightmare 0-2 start, pushing out No. 1 maegashira Takanosho on Tuesday.
Hoshoryu (2-1), meanwhile, became No. 1 maegashira Fujinokawa's latest yokozuna victim on Day 3, a day after the rising star upset Onosato.
Day 4: Yokozuna Onosato sinks to 1-3 with loss to Gonoyama
Wednesday, July 15 - Onosato crashed to 1-3 at the tournament on Wednesday as he was pushed out by previously winless No. 2 maegashira Gonoyama.
Hoshoryu bounced back from his first loss by thrusting down No. 2 maegashira Churanoumi and improving to 3-1 on Day 4 of the 15-day competition.
Day5 : Ozeki Kirishima takes 1st loss, struggling yokozuna Onosato wins 2nd
Thursday, July 16 - Ozeki Kirishima's unbeaten start at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament came to an end on Thursday, while struggling yokozuna Onosato secured his second win to improve to 2-3.
Among the sport's top-ranked wrestlers, Kirishima, yokozuna Hoshoryu and sekiwake Aonishiki sit one win behind the leaders at 4-1 following Day 5 of the 15-day tournament.
Day 6: Yokozuna Hoshoryu suffers 2nd loss as Shishi takes sole Nagoya lead
Friday, July 17 - Yokozuna Hoshoryu stumbled to his second defeat after six days at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Friday as Ukrainian rank-and-filer Shishi became the only wrestler boasting a perfect record.
Another yokozuna Onosato (3-3) secured his first back-to-back victories of the 15-day meet by overwhelming No. 3 maegashira Hiradoumi in a force out, yokozuna promotion-hopeful Kirishima (5-1) got back to winning ways and sekiwake Aonishiki (5-1) needed little time in dispatching Oho.
Day 7: Promotion-chasing ozeki Kirishima wins, in 7-way tie for Nagoya lead
Saturday, July 18 - Yokozuna promotion-chasing ozeki Kirishima joined six other wrestlers at the top of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament leaderboard on Saturday after rank-and-filer Shishi suffered his first defeat after seven days of action.
Yokozuna Hoshoryu (5-2) got back to winning ways against Hiradoumi (1-6), albeit backing off slightly at the start, and another yokozuna Onosato (4-3) is showing signs of recovery after sealing his third straight win.
Day 8: Joint leader Aonishiki stokes injury fears in win over Takanosho
Sunday, July 19 - 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.
