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Sumo
NAGOYA, July 7 (Kyodo) - The Musashigawa stable continues to grow stronger and stronger - on paper, at least - entering the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament as the first ever to field a yokozuna and three ozeki in a single event. Musashigawa stable
looks to repel Akebono,
Kaio chargeBut for all of the sluggers collected beneath the Musashigawa stable's roof, they could still be left on the sidelines July 23 when the championship hardware is handed out, shut out for a third straight time since winning six in a row through the New Year meet.
The 15-day grind at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium may well come down to a showdown between grand champion Akebono and sekiwake Kaio, hoping to convert his victory at the summer tourney in May into a promotion to sumo's second highest rank of ozeki.
Kaio, whose only loss in May was to Akebono, has been practicing at the Azumazeki stable with the Hawaiian-born giant as he sets his sights on what could be the 27-year-old's last chance at attaining ozeki status.
Kaio enters the Nagoya tourney needing 11-12 wins to be considered for promotion, but has been in this situation before and come up short - like last year's Nagoya meet, where he could only muster eight wins and went home still a sekiwake.
"I was practicing like an idiot last year even though it was hot and was worn out completely before the meet even began," said Kaio, who was fighting more than 20 practice bouts a day before last year's meet.
"This year I'm trying to save my strength and let it explode in the tournament," the Tomozuna stable sekiwake said.
Akebono, meanwhile, seeks to get a larger gorilla off his back as he aims for the 10th career tournament championship that has eluded him since the summer tourney of 1997.
The 230-kilogram behemoth was as close to No. 10 as he could get in Nagoya last year, letting the title slip through his fingers with final-day losses to the Musashigawa stable's Musashimaru and playoff winner Dejima.
He also dropped the ball in Tokyo in May, tripping up in the tournament's finale against yokozuna rival Takanohana when a win would have forced a showdown for the Emperor's Cup with Kaio, who has won only six out of 28 bouts with Akebono.
If neither Akebono nor Kaio are in the running on the final days of the 2000 Nagoya tourney, Takanohana could well be in line for the title as the Futagoyama stable yokozuna seeks to regain the Nagoya crown he held for four years before losing it in 1999 to Dejima.
As for the Musashigawa stable, newly promoted ozeki Miyabiyama will need to come up with ways to defeat Akebono, Takanohana, ozeki Chiyotaikai and Kaio - against whom he is a combined 6-16 - if he hopes to bear the stable banner.
Miyabiyama, however, may well be the stable's best hope since yokozuna Musashimaru and ozeki Musoyama will be trying to rebound from injuries that forced them out of the entire summer tourney.
Dejima, 8-7 in May, will be attempting to recover from his worst showing since winning the championship here a year ago.
Among the rank-and-file maegashira, Sentoryu, or Henry Armstrong Miller of St. Louis, Missouri, will make his debut in the makuuchi ranks after 12 years of chutes and ladders in the lower divisions.
Meanwhile, Terao aims to regain the first division after a 5-10 showing in May as a 13th-ranked maegashira relegated the 37-year-old former sekiwake to the juryo ranks following 15 years in the first division.
Kaio, Akebono on the spot
Star-Bulletin wire servicesNAGOYA, Japan -- The 15-day Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament could come down to a showdown between yokozuna (grand champion) Akebono, or Chad Rowan from Hawaii, and sekiwake Kaio, hoping to convert his victory at the summer tourney in May into a promotion to sumo's second highest rank of ozeki.
The 27-year-old Kaio, whose only loss in May was to Akebono, has been practicing at the Azumazeki stable with the Hawaiian-born giant as he sets his sights on what could be his last chance at attaining ozeki status.
Kaio enters the Nagoya tourney needing 11-12 wins to be considered for promotion. He has been in that situation before and come up short.
Akebono, meanwhile, aims for the 10th career tournament championship that has eluded him since the summer tourney of 1997.
He was as close to No. 10 as he could get in Nagoya last year, letting the title slip through his fingers with final-day losses to Musashimaru, or Fiamalu Penitani from Hawaii, and playoff winner Dejima.
He also dropped the ball in Tokyo in May, losing in the tournament's finale against fellow yokozuna Takanohana when a win would have forced a showdown for the Emperor's Cup with Kaio.
NAGOYA, July 7 (Kyodo) - Makuuchi division bouts for Sunday and Monday, the first two days of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium: Main bouts for 1st and
2nd days of Nagoya sumo
Sunday's bouts
Aogiyama 2 - 0 Kinkaiyama
Sentoryu 0 - 0 Aminishiki
Shikishima 0 - 1 Otsukasa
Takamisakari 0 - 0 Tokitsuumi
Hamanoshima 5 - 2 Daizen
Chiyotenzan 2 - 1 Minatofuji
Kyokushuzan 3 - 10 Takatoriki
Kotonowaka 1 - 3 Kyokutenho
Kaiho 2 - 5 Kotoryu
Hayateumi 1 - 0 Higonoumi
Oginishiki 1 - 0 Wakanoyama
Tochinonada 1 - 3 Asanowaka
Kaio 1 - 0 Takanowaka
Toki 2 - 2 Musoyama
Dejima 0 - 0 Tochinohana
Tochiazuma 2 - 5 Miyabiyama
Chiyotaikai 8 - 4 Takanonami
Musashimaru 26 - 11 Akinoshima
Tamakasuga 4 - 16 Takanohana
Akebono 12 - 4 Tosanoumi
Monday's bouts
Sentoryu 0 - 0 Aogiyama
Kinkaiyama 0 - 0 Aminishiki
Takamisakari 0 - 0 Shikishima
Otsukasa 2 - 1 Tokitsuumi
Chiyotenzan 1 - 2 Hamanoshima
Daizen 2 - 5 Minatofuji
Kotonowaka 4 - 5 Kyokushuzan
Takatoriki 1 - 1 Kyokutenho
Hayateumi 0 - 1 Kaiho
Kotoryu 5 - 7 Higonoumi
Tochinonada 2 - 3 Oginishiki
Wakanoyama 2 - 1 Asanowaka
Takanowaka 0 - 0 Tochiazuma
Chiyotaikai 4 - 0 Toki
Kaio 16 - 14 Musoyama
Dejima 8 - 4 Tamakasuga
Akinoshima 3 - 4 Miyabiyama
Akebono 31 - 5 Takanonami
Musashimaru 17 - 4 Tosanoumi
Tochinohana 0 - 0 Takanohana
Results in Scoreboard
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Kyodo News Service