Haru 2022 Discussion Thread (SPOILERS!)

[Reonito 1,511]

13 hours ago, Hankegami said:

About Abi, I am understood there are precedents with Ozeki runs started at M6?

None in the six-basho era.

[Yamanashi 3,901]

1 hour ago, Reonito said:

Exactly zero chance.

Besides, I have it on deep background from an inside source that Nishikigi will take it.

[Morty 1,505]

Kotonowaka starting to look like the real deal. Successful so far at his highest ever rank. Even in his one loss to Takayasu he looked good. 

[Kaninoyama 1,815]

2 minutes ago, Morty said:

Kotonowaka starting to look like the real deal. Successful so far at his highest ever rank. Even in his one loss to Takayasu he looked good. 

This forum doesn't seem to rate him high but I've always thought he has great potential. Amazing pedigree, size, strength, skill, moves well. Only injuries and inexperience have held him back so far. I believe he has future Ozeki potential, but at minimum, he should be a Tochiozan or Myogiryu type mainstay in Sanyaku/Joi for years to come. 

[Iwayama 25]

Hell of a battle between Oshoryu and Tochikamiyama. It was something to see Tochi fight his way out of such a disadvantageous position to score a close win.

[Yarimotsu 588]

Called it both here and in my Game 21 prediction - Terunofuji will compete no longer in this basho, his knee is severely injured and this is too many losses for a yokozuna to sustain and continue competing. Much better to pull out and rest up (as much as you can rest a knee plagued with arthritis).

As such I'm expecting a fairly wide-open yusho race, with mitakeumi and abi as clear frontrunners. takayasu's been solid but as others said he has faced weaker opposition so far.

[Katooshu 3,322]

Kotonowaka is good for sure, although this isn't his highest rank - he went 3-7-5 at M3 previously. 

[jsolo 106]

Terunofuji's withdrawal: Nikkan Sports, translated by deepl.com

Terunofuji is absent from the tournament, the first time since he became the new yokozuna in the autumn tournaments of last year.
[March 18, 2022, 10:51 a.m.]

Tsuna Terunofuji (30, Isekehama) took a leave of absence on the 6th day of the Spring Tournament, the 18th, after submitting a medical report to the Japan Sumo Association, stating that he suffered a right calcaneal bone contusion and left knee osteoarthritis and will require approximately one month of medical treatment. (heel and knee problems)

His opponent, Onosho, will be out of action on the 6th day.

Terunofuji, aiming for his seventh championship in two tournaments, was 3-2 with a gold star loss to Daieisho on the second day and Tamawashi on the fifth day.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

[Tigerboy1966 1,462]

Feel-good story for an otherwise gloomy day... Tochimaru clinches his promotion to juryo with his win over Takakento. DB down at the moment but I know he's been knocking on the sekitori door for ages, so fair play to the lad.

[Katooshu 3,322]

Speaking of impressive K-wakas, 21-year-old Kitanowaka is 6-0 in juryo, tied for the lead with Ryuden. He KK'd in his juryo debut last basho, but didn't end strong; hopefully he does better down the stretch this time.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Katooshu

[Gernobono 467]

22 minutes ago, Tigerboy1966 said:

DB down at the moment

this time it's jakusotsu's fault....his query was too much for the db 

[jsolo 106]

2022 MARCH (HARU) SUMO BASHO LINKS AND STATISTICS BLOG--DAY 5, MARCH 17, COMPLETE

Links to NHK videos of Yokozuna and all Ozeki matches (with a bit more of the pre-match stuff than before), photos from nikkansports, results, match articles from Kyodo News, Tachiai.org, and nikkan sports, Kimarite and time statistics, Top rank performance, maegashira v san-yaku, and more.

I have added a link to daily Mainichi Shimbun Photo Essays to my photos section. Thanks very much to the compiler of Daily Photos on this board. I was able to track those photos to MS and then find their photo essay page, a well organized page with arrow based navigation from one photo to another. Also am using deepl.com for English translations. Thanks to another contributor to this board. Much better than Google Translate, as he said it would be. Will be looking into enhancing the blog with more translations.

[Chartorenji 243]

Little shocked in Jonokuchi on the Hanafusa v Kotokenryu bout. It Seemed Koto was one of the least experienced in the Maezumo bouts yet a win over Hanafusa seems out of placed (Especially looking at who he has beaten in the past.)

[Eikokurai 3,437]

Damn, just realized Terunofuji had withdrawn. With him absent, Shodai already well out of the race and Takakeisho 50-50, the yusho door is wide open. Can Takayasu finally break his curse? He's seen so many guys take the cup since he was promoted to Ozeki.

Man, I got confused for about a whole minute wondering why Mitakeumi is in the last bout, completely forgetting he's an Ozeki now, haha.

[Gospodin 219]

4 hours ago, jsolo said:

Terunofuji is absent from the tournament, the first time since he became the new yokozuna in the autumn tournaments of last year.

God bless his stubbornness seems to have mellowed. The memory of his 2-13 basho as ozeki, when he was badly in jured, still makes me cringe.

[Tigerboy1966 1,462]

22 minutes ago, Chartorenji said:

Little shocked in Jonokuchi on the Hanafusa v Kotokenryu bout.

And now we are down to 3 unbeaten lads in the division, and two of them are from the same stable. Potential in-house play-off between Kotokenryu and Kototebakari?

[Kaninoyama 1,815]

Mitakeumi looking very solid, as does Takayasu. They feel like the favorites at this point.

Wakatakakage continues to impress in his Sekiwake debut. 

Abi did his Abi sumo against Hoshoryu, but got a little impatient at the edge of the dohyo, where Hoshoryu is most dangerous, and it cost him.  

[Akinomaki 40,738]

14 minutes ago, Gospodin said:

God bless his stubbornness seems to have mellowed. The memory of his 2-13 basho as ozeki, when he was badly in jured, still makes me cringe.

Isegahama said that Terunofuji told him yesterday evening: 'The heel and the knee reached the limit' - "It hasn't healed from last basho, feels like it got worse" "He is not someone who comes saying it (kyujo) by himself, so it has to be really severe."

He'll aim for a comeback for Natsu, without having surgery.

https://www.daily.co.jp/general/2022/03/18/0015144994.shtml

[since_94 650]

Really impressed with the way Akiseyama is moving this tournament. He's remarkably agile and reads his opponents exceedingly well.

Takayasu hasn't looked in this good form since about 2016 or 2017, IMO.

[Gernobono 467]

13 minutes ago, since_94 said:

Really impressed with the way Akiseyama is moving this tournament. He's remarkably agile and reads his opponents exceedingly well.

you saw him losing today?

Edited March 18, 2022 by Gernobono

[Qwerry 25]

1 hour ago, since_94 said:

Takayasu hasn't looked in this good form since about 2016 or 2017, IMO.

Nah. Just not strongest opponents... Just like Wakatakage.
We need to wait a little longer

[Seregost 132]

Looked Daishomaru wanted to use a new shimekomi in front of his Osaka people, but has reverted to his old green to win. 

[Koorifuu 1,019]

6 hours ago, Tigerboy1966 said:

Feel-good story for an otherwise gloomy day... Tochimaru clinches his promotion to juryo with his win over Takakento. DB down at the moment but I know he's been knocking on the sekitori door for ages, so fair play to the lad.

Bloody hell, what a man!

So much bad luck banzuke-wise, so much controversy, and he responds with an emphatic 4-0 start - with four convincing victories, to boot - to pretty much leave no room for any kind of luck or ill will from the banzuke makers. There's always the chance of being Fukuoka'd for the umpteenth time, but the lower juryo situation looks seriously dire for enough people to make sure his promotion should be all but officially sealed.

[ryafuji 815]

Can't help feeling that Terunofuji will never recapture his 2021 form and that age and injury have caught up with him. 

[Koorifuu 1,019]

5 hours ago, Chartorenji said:

Little shocked in Jonokuchi on the Hanafusa v Kotokenryu bout. It Seemed Koto was one of the least experienced in the Maezumo bouts yet a win over Hanafusa seems out of placed (Especially looking at who he has beaten in the past.)

It was kind of expected that jonokuchi would be exceptionally close and unpredictable this time. Haru's maezumo class was particularly well-rounded, and those results didn't seem to indicate anything other than that Tebakari Jr. seemed to be a notch above the others.

There's going to be plenty of 4-3, 5-2 and maybe 3-4 guys who'd normally ease through with 7-0 or 6-1 scores in their first basho, but watch many of them be in the jonidan yusho hunt deep into the second week as the pairing brackets are spread out.