‘Sanyaku’ trio lead
Kyushu sumo as
yokozuna pair fall

Kyodo News Service

FUKUOKA -- The "sanyaku" trio of Dejima, Tochiazuma and Tosanoumi held onto the lead in the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament with one-sided wins Monday while grand champions Takanohana and Musashimaru were each saddled with their third losses.

The sanyaku ranks are the three highest rankings -- ozeki, sekiwake and komusubi -- after yokozuna, or grand champion.

And while the sanyaku trio continued in the lead, Takanohana and Musashimaru had their own chances for the championship seriously hurt with their third losses.

Veteran No. 4 maegashira Terao (3-6) slipped under an attempted shove by Musashimaru and got the grand champion spun around to push him out from behind for his seventh victory all-time against a yokozuna.

Sekiwake Tochiazuma, seeking to become the third wrestler at sumo's third-highest rank this year to win a championship, charged hard against ozeki Takanonami at Fukuoka Kokusai Center for his eighth win against one loss in the 15-day tourney.

Also posting their eighth wins, ozeki Dejima took advantage of a crisp lunge at the face-off to march out komusubi Akinoshima (2-7) while komusubi Tosanoumi used a relentless thrusting attack to back out top maegashira Tamakasuga (2-7).

Earlier this year, Chiyotaikai and Dejima each won tournaments as sekiwake and were subsequently promoted to sumo's second highest rank of ozeki.

Tochiazuma's victory, while keeping the 23-year-old sekiwake on track for his first tournament championship, also saddled Takanonami with his fifth loss. The lanky ozeki, now 4-5, needs at least eight wins to hold onto his rank after pulling out of the fall tourney.

Sekiwake Kaio (5-4) sent Takanohana tumbling onto his backside with a sharp shove at the edge of the ring, putting the yokozuna in danger of being shut out of the championships for the year for the first time since he won his first Emperor's Cup in 1992.

Earlier in the day, No. 5 maegashira Toki (7-2) was dropped from the lead group as ninth-ranked Wakanosato (5-4) grabbed him by the belt and sent him sprawling onto the ring's surface.

Also in the sanyaku ranks, ozeki Chiyotaikai (6-3) caught Kyokushuzan under the chin with a strong stiff-arm and marched the Mongolian maegashira out of the ring.

Kyokushuzan, suffering his eight loss, will take a dip in the rankings for the New Year tourney.

Mongolian compatriot Kyokutenho, wrestling at No. 8 maegashira, wrapped up Ganyu and waltzed the winless No. 14 maegashira out for his fourth win.

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Results of main bouts on
9th day of Kyushu sumo

FUKUOKA -- Results of makuuchi division bouts Monday, the ninth day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament at Fukuoka Kokusai Center:

Won -- Technique -- Lost

Tochinonada 7-2 -- yorikiri -- Daizen 3-6
Takanowaka 6-3 -- hatakikomi -- Tokitsuumi 5-4
Kaiho 5-4 -- okuritaoshi -- Shikishima 6-3
Ohinode 6-3 -- yorikiri -- Hamanoshima 4-5
Kyokutenho 4-5 -- yorikiri -- Ganyu 0-9
Chiyotenzan 5-4 -- yoritaoshi -- Minatofuji 4-5
Kotoryu 4-5 -- yorikiri -- Otsukasa 4-5
Asanowaka 5-4 -- katasukashi -- Wakanoyama 4-5
Wakanosato 5-4 -- shitatenage -- Toki 7-2
Higonoumi 5-4 -- hikiotoshi -- Aogiyama 3-6
Takatoriki 2-7 -- okuridashi -- Kotonowaka 4-5
Miyabiyama 4-5 -- oshidashi -- Asanosho 2-7
Musoyama 5-4 -- oshidashi -- Kotonishiki 3-6
Tosanoumi 8-1 -- yorikiri -- Tamakasuga 2-7
Dejima 8-1 -- yorikiri -- Akinoshima 2-7
Chiyotaikai 6-3 -- oshidashi -- Kyokushuzan 1-8
Tochiazuma 8-1 -- oshidashi -- Takanonami 4-5
Kaio 5-4 -- oshitaoshi -- Takanohana 6-3
Terao 3-6 -- yorikiri -- Musashimaru 6-3

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Tuesday's bouts

Kaiho 2 - 2 Ganyu
Asanowaka 7 - 6 Hamanoshima
Shikishima 0 - 2 Wakanosato
Kyokutenho 0 - 1 Otsukasa
Takanowaka 0 - 0 Chiyotenzan
Minatofuji 4 - 2 Daizen
Ohinode 0 - 1 Higonoumi
Wakanoyama 1 - 1 Tokitsuumi
Tochinonada 2 - 1 Toki
Takatoriki 3 - 2 Kotoryu
Aogiyama 2 - 2 Kotonishiki
Kyokushuzan 1 - 1 Miyabiyama
Musoyama 13 - 9 Akinoshima
Kaio 5 - 4 Tamakasuga
Takanonami 26 - 15 Kotonowaka
Terao 0 - 2 Dejima
Chiyotaikai 1 - 0 Asanosho
Musashimaru 11 - 2 Tochiazuma
Tosanoumi 5 - 14 Takanohana

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Results in Scoreboard

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