nagora

Blink and you miss it, I guess :)

I don't think Meisei will stop Akiseyama myself but the latter need never take up poker. I've never seen anyone so obviously rattled at the start of a bout. Takakeisho's win was certainly better than his first - at least he put some back into it. I agree about Daieisho; barring injury I can't see anyone stopping him from taking the cup but I hope we get a good bout when he does eventually come up against Shodai.

I actually think Midorifuji lost that match. It was very close but I think I would have given it to Hoshoryu after watching the replays a couple of times. I think his back hit the ground after Midorifuji's face and arm.

Which seems unlikely, especially if Shodai is on form.

I thought the lower rank went to west in that case?

Terry wasn't exactly "untrained" - he was a very keen amateur golfer. I remember the Chiyonofuji piece too. It was around the time of the Royal Albert Hall Basho in '91 which was just a few months after he retired. According to its website, the RAH Basho was the first official one outside of Japan ever, which might be why Chiyonofuji came over with it and ended up playing golf in front of the C4 cameras.

Anyone have any idea why the Grand Sumo app is not available in the UK?

The sumodb has records going back to the 1700's but beyond the modern era I don't know how to read results like "7-0-1-1a-1o" or "4-0-2-1d-1a-1o" and there doesn't seem to be a guide on http://sumodb.sumogames.de. Can anyone provide a key or a link to these old results?

OK, thanks. "4-0-2-1d-1a-1o" is presumably 4 wins, 0 losses, 2 did-not-shows, a draw, and undecided, and some other draw type, then? Any idea what distinguished a draw from an undecided?

I was introduced to sumo though the UK's Channel 4 coverage which I enjoyed a lot back in the day but sometime after Chiyonofuji's retirement I drifted away. I recently learnt of his early death and I've started to get back into it again. In the decades since I last watched it I have learnt some Kanji and Hiragana but certainly not enough to read Japanese coverage, let alone listen to the audio. I was living in Northern Ireland then, now I'm in England for work (at a university - in a technical role) and married. While looking around I see a lot of stuff about scandals and problems in the not too-distant past. And of course the sudden and sustained dominance of foreigners. So, here's my first question: What's the state of sumo today? I know it's a bad year to ask that (what is in a good state after Covid-19?), but I mean in terms of popularity and trust in results. I'm particularly curious as to whether the apparent Mongolian invasion has put the Japanese public off at all?

Well, I must have seen Akebono on the news or something then - it was a reasonably big deal in terms of sport I guess. It's basically impossible, I think, to claim that Hakuho is anything other than the greatest given his record. 15-0 might happen once or twice I suppose against a field thinned by coincidental injuries, say, but four in a row followed by two 14-1s is just astounding - 13 consecutive honbashos with a total of just 9 losses?! I don't think Chiyonofuji would have claimed to be the GOAT, but this is always the way - people remember the best in their lifetime and "best" can be coloured by things other than performance. Chiyonofuji was good-looking and very charismatic and was also distinctive in style and physical appearance with his muscular upper body. And he was bloody good too, of course. These things make a mark in the memory even before considering the issue of Hakuho being a foreigner.

Thanks everyone, especially Taikoubana for his full answer. I must have held on for a bit longer than I thought as I do remember Akibono becoming yokozuna but not Takanohana, who I remember being up and coming along with his brother (Wakanohana?). I noticed that some of the retirees mentioned in another thread here were in their early 30s so would have been babies when Chiyonofuji retired so I guess I've missed two entire generations of sumo, but it's still surprising to see that all his records have gone, and by some margin too.