Natsu 2025 Day Eight
After the middle day of the basho, the leaderboard has slightly shifted.
Public League Leaderboard
Scores from Fantasizr
Yusho Arasoi
8 Wins
02 Ozeki East Onosato
7 Wins
07 Komusubi West Wakatakakage
20 Maegashira #7 East Hakuoho
24 Maegashira #9 East Aonishiki
6 Wins
01 Yokozuna East Hoshoryu
04 Sekiwake East Daieisho
23 Maegashira #8 West Kinbozan
35 Maegashira #14 West Roga
41 Maegashira #17 West Asakoryu
Notable Maneuvers
Kotenage. Meisei has been up-and-down, and he was flailing against Hakuoho. Yet that meant the match went round and round. In the chaos, Meisei grabbed Hakuoho’s arm at the edge and sent him over and down with an arm-lock throw.
Match of the Day
01 Yokozuna East Hoshoryu versus 14 Maegashira #4 East Takerufuji
This was a fairly short match with a ton of things happening. The match started, as with most Hoshoryu matches, with a tense stare down. Then Takerufuji went in the air from the start, doing the shoulder-hit and jump that Abi has often used to get behind a rikishi. Hoshoryu read him dead to rights, although that’s still awkward to recover from. Hoshoryu caught him, but they were moving sideways. The Yokozuna clamped Takerufuji’s arm and flipped him completely over with a kotenage. That was all in the span of about three seconds or so.
Recap
Onosato is now the lone remaining undefeated sekitori in this basho. His eighth win, an absurdly easy push out against a game Hiradoumi, also guarantees him a kachi-koshi and the avoidance of kadoban status. He’s fighting for more with a Yokozuna promotion on the line, but he’s fighting like a Yokozuna. What Hiradoumi should have done is a strange conversation. Pushing seems to do nothing to the Nishonoseki man this tournament, and grabbing his belt is a challenge few can manage. He’s maybe too good to do anything typical right now.
Of course, Onosato is the lone remaining undefeated sekitori because he stayed good and Hakuoho lost. The loss by the Miyagino/Isegahama man is a perfect demonstration that past performance doesn’t guarantee future results. Meisei got him just enough off to do something. For many rikishi, that’s all it takes. Meisei won fairly impressively, sending Hakuoho to the clay with an excellent maneuver. That does not mean in any way that Hakuoho is on a downswing. He had a less-than-perfect match.
Hakuoho is joined on one loss by Wakatakakage and Aonishiki, who both did look impressive in their bouts. Wakatakakage performed his just-faster-than-you tachiai he is so good at to give no space whatsoever to Oho. Aonishiki faced Tobizaru for the first time and did a remarkable job at what anyone must do with Tobizaru. He kept him contained. When the Flying Monkey got spun around, the Blonde Bomber pushed him out from behind.
The two-loss group does contain contenders who could pierce the bubble of the leading quartet. Hoshoryu leads this group, and Hoss has once again looked like a Yokozuna over the last few days. His throws have a power and speed which prove tough to fight. Daieisho is also in this group, and his chances at Ozeki-dom are not quite gone. He needs to win out, which is a long shot but not an impossibility. Kinbozan, Roga, and Asakoryu are less likely to threaten the leaders, but they have 6 wins and are looking good so they have the chance.
The issue is that everyone has to catch Onosato. Things can change, as demonstrated by Nishikigi and Kayo. Nishikigi was undefeated through five days, but has now lost three straight. Kayo was winless after four days, but is now even. The one requirement for things to change at the top of the Yusho Arasoi is that two rikishi need to move past each other. Hakuoho or Wakatakakage or Aonishiki or Daieisho or perhaps especially Hoshoryu could win out. Yet everyone needs Onosato to drop a match or two and he looks like he’s not going to.