SUNDAY

Chiyotaikai, Musashimaru
fall on spring sumo’s
opening day

OSAKA, March 14 (Kyodo) -- Komusubi Dejima spoiled the ozeki debut of New Year tourney winner Chiyotaikai on the opening day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday, which also saw an upset loss for ozeki Musashimaru.

Chiyotaikai, promoted in late January to become the first new ozeki in five years, lunged too low at the faceoff as Dejima skirted to his left and the next moment the new ozeki found himself laid out flat on the dohyo at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.

"He rushed toward me very low and I sidestepped unconsciously. Then I saw him dropping to the dohyo. That was a surprise," said Dejima, who beat Chiyotaikai for the first time in their fifth meeting.

After watching his fellow ozeki fall in a flash, Musashimaru took about one minute to put himself on the upset list at the hands of komusubi Akinoshima, whose tenacity at the ring's edge paid off.

Akinoshima was put on the defensive for much of the bout by the bulldozing Musashimaru before taking advantage of a momentary lapse of concentration by the Hawaiian-born ozeki and finally throwing him out of the ring.

Yokozuna siblings Takanohana and Wakanohana meanwhile got off to winning starts in the 15-day tournament.

Takanohana survived a scare from veteran top-ranked maegashira Kotonishiki, who came on the brink of his third straight win over the yokozuna, whose fitness is still in doubt after he struggled in January.

Kotonishiki got the upper hand in terms of speed and agility in the 80-second bout, only to see his left foot touch the dirt outside the ring just when his throw appeared to send Takanohana flying into the front-row seats.

In a stark contrast in form, Wakanohana easily yanked down komusubi Kaio to seal a convincing win in kicking off his quest for the Emperor's Cup, which slipped through his hands with two losses to Chiyotaikai on the final day of the New Year tournament.

In other major bouts, ozeki Takanonami notched a well-deserved victory by dropping No. 2 maegashira Tosanoumi in the middle of the ring.

No. 7 maegashira Miyabiyama, who took only five tournaments to enter the elite makuuchi division, celebrated his debut in the top flight as he drove out sixth-ranked maegashira Wakanosato following a grueling belt-gripping duel.

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MONDAY

Chiyotaikai falls again,
Waka upset in spring sumo

OSAKA, March 15 (Kyodo) -- Newly promoted ozeki Chiyotaikai was outclassed by a lower-ranked opponent for the second straight day Monday while yokozuna Wakanohana tumbled to his first loss in the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.

Chiyotaikai, beaten by komusubi Dejima in a flash in his ozeki debut Sunday, could only endure several seconds longer in the face of powerful slaps by No. 1 maegashira Takatoriki.

Chiyotaikai, the Emperor's Cup winner at the New Year tourney, looked nervous even before the face-off and did nothing but backpedal straight out of the dohyo ring at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.

Takatoriki evened his record at 1-1 with his first career win over the new ozeki in their seventh meeting.

Wakanohana was equally listless against No. 2 maegashira Tosanoumi, who muscled out the yokozuna after taking total control of the bout with shoves and arm thrusts.

The loss is a heavy blow in Wakanohana's bid for his first Emperor's Cup since being promoted to sumo's highest rank last summer and following his narrow defeat by Chiyotaikai in January.

Younger brother and fellow grand champion Takanohana put on another lackluster performance despite securing his second win in as many days.

The winner of 20 Emperor's Cups was saved by a misjudgment of komusubi Tochiazuma, who abruptly stopped moving and was easily walked out after he thought he had won watching Takanohana's toe nearly touch the dirt outside the ring.

In other main bouts, ozeki Musashimaru rebounded from Sunday's loss, stifling agile moves by familiar foe Kotonishiki before blasting out the No. 1 maegashira with one big midring shove.

Ozeki Takanonami hustled and bustled before lifting Dejima out of the ring for his second consecutive win.

Highly touted Miyabiyama, wrestling as high as maegashira No. 7 in his debut in the elite makuuchi division, put on a full display of his arsenal as he slapped, shoved, and thrust his way before throwing fourth-ranked Higonoumi down to the dirt.

Miyabiyama improved to 2-0, while Higonoumi is 1-1.

Sekiwake Musoyama's quest for the long-elusive promotion to ozeki suffered a huge setback as he dislocated his left shoulder in a loss to Mongolian trickster Kyokushuzan. Both wrestlers are 1-1.

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Results in Scoreboard

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