[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - Houshouryuu preparations

[Jeff A]

Moti

Best regards,
Jeffrey Anderson
Gaijingai

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these:
It might have been.
- John Greenleaf Whittier


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Moti Dichne <niramiai at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Sep 8, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - Houshouryuu preparations
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


Today, Houshouryuu, who belongs  to the Dewanoumi Ichimon, participated in
the Tokitsukaze Ichimon's rengo keiko and went 16-6 in 22 consecutive
matches. He first selected Wakamotoharu, Maegashira 4W, and was 5-2. Next,
he selected Daieishou who had been demoted from Sekiwake to Maegashira
10E after missing the entire previous basho, and won all four matches,
defeating the two men who had previously competed with him for a possible
triple promotion to Ozeki back in Nagoya 2023, he being the only one who
made it.. Finally, he selected 20-year-old Fujinokawa, ranked Maegashira
9,W in his second makuuchi tournament, and struggled with a record of 7
wins and 4 losses. In his first encounter with the small, 177 cm, 120 kg
Fujinokawa, he was  head  - butted from a low  position, unable to stop
Fujinokawa's momentum and was thrown out of the ring. He showed a surprised
look on his face, and in the next bout he used a fierce attack, just like
in honbasho, throwing his opponent with a tsukiotoshi, to tie the record.
However, he lost the third bout, and although he won the fourth and fifth
matches, he lost consecutive matches in the sixth and seventh. After the
seventh match he was trailing Fujinokawa with a record of 3 wins and 4
losses. In the end, he won four consecutive matches against Fujinokawa, who
was out of breath and looked very tired, but he was able to win the match-
up with the up-and-coming wrestler who won 10 matches in the previous
tournament as a new makuuchi wrestler and won the Fighting Spirit Prize, so
it could be said that he was on equal footing with him.

 Houshouryuu has withdrawn twice in the last three bashos since his
promotion to Yokozuna. In the last tournament, he suffered three
consecutive losses, all of which were kinboshi, from Day 2 onwards, and
withdrew from the tournament on Day 5. While he has struggled with losing
matches against rank-and-file rikishi, his struggles with Fujinokawa's
speed and energy are cause for concern ahead of his planned comeback in
Aki.  However, Houshouryuu took a positive view, describing the training as
"good keiko," even as it highlighted his weaknesses. He explained his
intentions for the three opponents he nominated that day: "I chose a yotsu
guy (Wakamotoharu), an oshi rikishi (Daieishou), and finally, a young,
energetic, small, and fast-moving opponent." He said his physical condition
is "normal," and added with a serious look, "I want to train hard and
prepare for shonichi." This was his third absence in four tournaments since
his promotion to Yokozuna, and two consecutive absences will likely draw
scrutiny from fans and those involved. He said he is "considering" making
adjustments after the 9th, and intends to improve his condition by going
for degeiko again.

-- 

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Sumo Newsletter2" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to sumo-newsletter2+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sumo-newsletter2/0c5206da-25bd-47b0-9ddf-1da0bd00548en%40googlegroups.com
<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sumo-newsletter2/0c5206da-25bd-47b0-9ddf-1da0bd00548en%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://server.webtrek.com/pipermail/sumo/attachments/20250908/4fcb5b13/attachment.html>