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That time has come around again, and another sumo tournament is just about to start. And, not for the first time, the between-tournament news has been dominated by a scandal involving stable violence. This time, it's involving the stable of the greatest of all time, former Yokozuna Hakuho. There has been a lot of fallout from this scandal already, with more probably to come and it seems like there are some expectations that Miyagino Stable will close after the tournament. We'll have to wait and see, but Hakuho has already been demoted and punished, his protege has been "retired" (justifiably), and another stablemaster has been brought in to handle those duties at the stable while Hakuho is in the penalty box. It's all a big mess, as usual, and will definitely be a talking point throughout the tournament. Aside from that though, there's plenty of sumo to look forward to, so let's get to the rankings:
Debuting Wrestlers: We've got one wrestler making his top-division debut this time, in Takerufuji. He sped up the rankings, blowing through Juryo in a single yusho-winning tournament, and is making his debut as one of the up and coming younger wrestlers. As a member of Isegahama Beya, he also has phenomenal training partners to help improve his game and get him used to competing against the best. I'd expect him to do well here and start making a name for himself in the top division.
Maegashira: I'll skip through quite a few of these ranks in the interest of not making this too long, but it feels pretty disheartening to see Shodai ranked so low. It's no surprise, but after his 4-11 tournament he fell way down the rankings. I don't know how much longer he'll stay around, but for his sake I'd love to see a 9 or 10 win tournament. Gonoyama had a rough tournament in January but I think he belongs in upper Maegashira ranks, and expect him to get 8 wins at least here. Of course a lot of eyes will be on Onosato this tournament as he had a great debut in the top division and should be able to do well here too. I'm not expecting anything too crazy, but again 8 wins is very doable for him. M1 didn't work so well for Atamifuji but that's all part of the learning process, and he's shown a lot of good sumo so I think he's in a good position here. Speaking of which, the M1 ranks have a couple of fan-favorites here and Asanoyama hasn't been able to stroll right back into the Sanyaku ranks as easily as I expected, but I still think it will happen. And finally, Ura wasn't able to stay at Komosubi, but he's still amazing to watch and ranked high in Maegashira will give him plenty of opportunity to show excellent sumo against the top wrestlers.
Sanyaku: I feel like Nishikigi has been settling down his overperforming a bit lately, but I still can't believe he's competing at such a high level and putting in some fantastic performances. I think he'll struggle with the killers ranked above him, but who knows, he's been one of the biggest surprises for me in recent times. Alongside him, Abi has used his go-for-broke style to work his way back up to sanyaku but struggled to stay in the named ranks. I think that's probably just due to his style, but he's still a very dangerous wrestler and can completely blitz his opponents.
At Sekiwake, I feel like it's the same old story, but Wakamotoharu and Daieisho are just such talented wrestlers and have shown really dangerous sumo for the men ranked above them. They can challenge and beat anybody, and I'd expect them to get two or three big upsets.
Ozeki: It's always exciting to see, and especially after a great performance in January, as we have a new Ozeki making his debut this tournament. Kotonowaka has been putting in some great performances and showing that he has the goods to be able to compete at the top of the sport. He's quite young, seems relatively injury-free, and has good physicality for the sport. A debut tournament as an Ozeki is always a challenge, but I'd expect him to be able to do well. After exiting the tournament in January ,Takakeisho will be kadoban and at risk of losing his rank this time. He often goes 8-7 in a tournament following a withdrawl so I guess that's what I'd expect, but I don't know.... He might be in trouble this time. Hoshoryu seems to be doing well in training, and hopefully his knee doesn't give him much trouble and he's able to recover from the injury. I'm still quite high on him, and think he has a lot of improvement still to come, despite already being a fantastic wrestler. And finally, Kirishima has been showing some great sumo, but fell apart a bit at the end of the tournament in January. I'm also really high on him, and think if he can settle things down a bit, and finish strong, he could be in contention for the yusho up to the end. Overall, I really like this crop of Ozeki and think they'll be providing a good challenge for the championship.
Yokozuna: It was a triumphant return for Terunofuji in January and a great start to the year for the sport's top dog. He had some nervy moments and a couple early losses, but was able to take control well and got the result he wanted against a good challenge. He's planning to participate this time, and hopefully will be able to stay in the whole tournament again.
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So there you go!
Viewing options: I can never remember who's around posting highlights and stuff these days, so hopefully we'll get some YouTube channels posted here early on! Kintamayama should be posting highlights on Rumble, I'm guessing Natto will be posting on Youtube as well.
And it's always great to have new people join the fun and start following the sport, but it's definitely not the easiest sport to understand when you first start watching. If you're new, feel free to ask questions! Also feel free to head over to the Introduction to SUMO thread to get a basic (although very outdated) introduction to the sport.
Hakke-yoi!
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