Daylight for Takanohana
as Hawaiians crash in Nagoya

NAGOYA -- Hawaiian giants Akebono and Musashimaru were both bulldozed out of the ring Wednesday, giving yokozuna Takanohana breathing space ahead of the top-ranked wrestlers with another easy win at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

Takanohana boosted his record to a perfect 11-0 as he wrapped up No. 5 maegashira Ganyu and frog-marched him out for a textbook win to move a step closer to claiming his 19th Emperor's Cup.

Meanwhile, No. 9 maegashira Kotonowaka notched his 10th win of the 15-day tourney, blasting out makuuchi division newcomer Kinkaiyama in a flash to remain one win behind Takanohana.

Musashimaru fell two wins off the pace after a disappointing loss to fellow ozeki Takanonami, which left the two champions tied for third place at 9-2, along with newly promoted yokozuna Wakanohana.

In a bout eagerly anticipated by a full house at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Takanonami cleverly dodged Musashimaru's initial charge, then attacked from the side with his opponent off balance to win with ease.

Minutes later, fifth-ranked maegashira Tochiazuma produced a carbon copy victory as he used superior footwork to force Akebono onto the back foot and send the yokozuna crashing to his third loss. Tochiazuma moved to 6-5.

With the arena still buzzing from the demise of the Hawaiian duo, grand champion Wakanohana put on a vintage performance in the day's penultimate bout.

Showing patience against a spirited Higonoumi, Wakanohana secured a strong right-hand grip on the belt of the sixth-ranked maegashira before dropping him to the dirt surface with a nifty leg trip.

In the day's most brutal clash, Chiyotaikai continued his excellent form in his first tourney at sekiwake, almost decapitating No. 4 maegashira Dejima with some vicious face slaps to rack up his eighth victory and secure a winning record.

Dejima, who dumped Akebono on Tuesday, slipped to 7-4.

Meanwhile, former ozeki candidate Musoyama -- now fighting as a fourth-ranked maegashira -- bundled out komusubi Kaio in a scrappy bout and boosted his record to 6-5. Kaio dropped to 3-8 and will face demotion next time out.

The day's wooden-spoon showdown between two winless grapplers ended in a triumph for No. 4 maegashira Tochinowaka as Gojoro, ranked one place above him, seemed to lose his bearings and collapsed in a heap against the straw bails with little effort from his opponent.

Results in Scoreboard

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