« Advantage HAKUHO | Main | On to the last day... »
March 24, 2006
Sumo - 2 days to go
Only 2 days left and it's all knotted up.
Hakuho lost to Tochiazuma on Day 12 and Asashoryu beat Kaio to tie him. Today they both won to go to 12-1. Asashoryu beat Ozeki Chiyotaikai and Hakuho beat fellow Sekiwake Kotomitsuki.
Looks like Asashoryu faces Koto'oshu tomorrow and Tochiazuma Sunday, while Hakuho faces Wakanosato (the scrub who finally got the respect of the match-schedulers, only to lose his 3rd and fall out of contention) tomorrow and Kaio on the last day. That Hakuho-Kaio match could be huge -- Hakuho will probably be going for the championship and Kaio could be 7-7 and need to win to save his career. (Kaio won today to keep his hopes alive, at 6-7, and faces Kotomitsuki tomorrow.)
Hakuho, with 12 wins already, is assured his Ozeki promotion for next tournament. He'll be the 4th youngest Ozeki ever (Takanohana was the youngest). He'll also be the 6th foreigner to make Ozeki and 2nd Mongolian. And now the question becomes -- how long until he makes Yokozuna?
In other news, another Mongolian who's little but has great skill, Kyokushuzan, is 10-3. Retarded-looking Takamisakari has lost 4 in a row and needs to win his last 2 to keep from sinking to the bottom of the Sumo major leagues. And Estonian monster Baruto won the Juryo (2nd highest level - triple-A minor league) championship.
Standings:
12-1 Asashoryu, Hakuho
10-3 Tochiazuma, Wakanosato, Kyokushuzan
9-4 Koto'oshu, (Great Japanese Hope) Kisenosato
8-5 Chiyotaikai, Kotomitsuki
6-7 Kaio, Takamisakari
Posted by JoshHornik at March 24, 2006 06:46 AM