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January 19, 2006
Asashoryu loses! 6 within 1 win of lead!
This is now officially the most competitive Sumo tournament since September of 2004, the last time 6 wrestlers were within 1 of the lead after 12 days.
There are 2 tied for the lead at 11-1, and 4 tied for 2nd at 10-2. Asashoryu yesterday joined the 1-behind gang, losing to the guy I predicted might be trouble for him this time, Hakuho. Hakuho is also 10-2 now. Asashoryu was looking pretty good, pushing Hakuho back and working to get a grip on his belt, when Hakuho made a lightning-fast move to lock Asashoryu's arm, whip his body around and yank Asashoryu down and out. (And by the look of Asashoryu rubbing his shoulder, pretty nearly pull Asashoryu's arm out of its socket.)
The cushions went flying (that's what the fans do when someone beats a Yokozuna) and then there were 2 in the lead: Ozeki Tochiazuma and the guy I better stop calling a scrub, Hokutoriki.
Meanwhile, the other 2 wrestlers 1 back include Koto'oshu, who won his 7th match in a row and looks nearly unbeatable now, and another scrub from the bottom of the rankings, Tokitsuumi.
With only 3 days left, the tournament really gets interesting now. Today, the 2 Ozeki's (Tochiazuma and Koto'oshu) go up against each other, then they take turns going up against Asashoryu on days 14 & 15. Asashoryu goes up against an out-of-his-league Ama today for a breather, before the 2 Ozeki's on the weekend. With a little help from Koto'oshu beating Tochiazuma, and Hakuho beating Hokutoriki, there could be a 6-way tie for first after day 13!
Posted by JoshHornik at January 19, 2006 06:32 PM