Friday, July 2, 1999

Musashimaru
ready for yokozuna
debut Sunday

Hawaii's Fiamalu Penitani can
become just the fourth to win his
debut as a grand champion

Kyodo News Service

NAGOYA, Japan -- During the last quarter century, the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament -- the youngest of sumo's six annual major events --has become "the cradle of yokozuna."

The tourney, first contested in 1958, has provided six of sumo's 13 most recent grand champions with the boost they needed to win promotion to yokozuna. Another five grand champions, beginning with Wajima in 1973, also made their debuts in Nagoya.

On Sunday, Musashimaru (Hawaii's Fiamalu Penitani) becomes the second yokozuna in as many years to step onto the dohyo in Nagoya for the first time to perform the ring purification ritual. One of his goals will be to overcome the dismal record of first-time grand champions in their debut tourneys.

Musashimaru, winner of the spring and summer meets, will be seeking his third straight Emperor's Cup. If successful, he would become the fourth grand champion in the modern era to win the first time after strapping on the ornamental rope indicating the rank.

Yet in the run-up to the meet at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Musashimaru and stable master Musashigawa have been less concerned about winning than on focusing on cleaning up the grand champion's form.

"While looking at the opponent, you have to be on the line," Musashigawa scolded the new yokozuna recently, mindful of criticism that Musashimaru's initial charge is not as clean as it might be.

The burly grappler's attention to form, however, appears to have paid some unexpected dividends.

"His movement has gotten quite a bit quicker," said Musashigawa.

"If I can get inside with my right arm at the face-off, I think I'll be able to wrestle like I did in the last tourney," said Musashimaru. "My record in Nagoya is not bad. I think I'll be OK if I do my best and let my performance on the dohyo do the talking for me." said Musashimaru.

In the wings, however, waits yokozuna Takanohana, eager to shake off the rust after withdrawing from the March tourney with a dislocated shoulder. He also missed the entire May meet when the shoulder did not heal as quickly as expected.

Meanwhile, yokozuna Akebono (Hawaii's Chad Rowan) will seek to improve on his 11-4 record in May. During that tournament, he put on a gutsy comeback performance following a career-threatening back injury last November.

Sumo's fourth grand champion, Wakanohana, formally withdrew from the tourney today with a nagging ankle injury inflicted in May.

At ozeki, the wheel of fortune may turn as young Chiyotaikai battles to hang onto his rank after suffering a broken nose in March.

The winner of the New Year basho, Chiyotaikai was forced out of the spring tournament due to the broken nose inflicted by Musashimaru. He will need at least eight wins in Nagoya to hold onto sumo's second-highest rank.

Meanwhile, sekiwake Kaio makes his latest and most serious challenge to be promoted to yokozuna. Married in June to former pro wrestler Mitsuko Nishiwaki, Kaio has been training harder than usual with an eye on the 12 wins he will likely need to secure promotion to ozeki after posting 10-5 and 12-3 records.

The Nagoya tourney is also known for the rank-and-file maegashira wrestlers who have won here. That includes No. 4 maegashira Takamiyama, the first foreign-born wrestler to win one of sumo's main events when he turned the trick in 1972.

Of the 14 times that a maegashira-ranked wrestler has won the Emperor's Cup in the last 40 years, five have carried away the trophies in Nagoya.