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It’s that time again, and another sumo tournament is just around the corner! These days sumo feels a bit like it’s undergoing a changing of the guard. There are a lot of exciting young wrestlers that are performing amazingly, while some of the higher profile veterans are struggling to put in consistent performances.
Let’s take a look at the banzuke:
Debuting Wrestlers: We’ve got two wrestlers making their debut in the top division this tournament, with the first being Tokiyamate. He’s coming off of four-straight winning records in Juryo, and made his way up the ranks slowly but surely. I’d expect him to struggle a bit in the top division, but I don’t think a winning record is out of the question! He’ll be joining his stablemate former Ozeki Shodai, who although he’s been struggling a lot recently (to put it mildly), I do think he’ll be a helpful senior stablemate for the newcomer. He’ll be joined by Oshoma also making his debut. Oshoma is a pretty promising wrestler, but had injuries hamper his performance. He’s been doing well though, and should be able to get a winning record here.
Maegashira: I’m going to speed through the Maegashira ranks this time, and start with the M9 wrestlers. We have two veterans at this rank, with Shodai and Tamawashi. Both have been solid upper-division wrestlers for quite a while, but have fallen quite a ways down the banzuke. There is a big difference between the two in that Tamawashi is significantly older, and the oldest top-division wrestler, while Shodai should still have some good years left in him. He’s simply struggled to produce some compelling sumo consistently in the last few years. Tamawashi has been a stalwart and is one of the true iron-men of the sport, but has had a bit of a tougher time in the last couple of years.
Let’s jump up a bit more and head to the man who would have been the talk of the tournament if he weren’t sitting out, Takerufuji. I’m still going to talk about the guy because he deserves it, and frankly what more is there to say about him that hasn’t been said already, he has been phenomenal, and pulled off an amazing (even though there were high expectations put on him already) basho in March to win the tournament. He did so as the lowest-ranked top division wrestler, just like fan-favorite Tokushoryu in 2020. Unlike Tokoshoryu, he isn’t at the tail end of his career, and this doesn’t feel like a “flash in the pan” one-off thing. He’s the real deal and I’ll wager this year will be dominated by him and talk of his future. His performance will have to wait though, as he’s sitting this one out to recover (which is good).
I’m also very excited to see the top of the Maegashira ranks full of relatively young wrestlers in Gonoyama, Hiradoumi, and Atamifuji. They’ve all been impressive to me, and I’m especially looking forward to seeing how Atamifuji does at M1 again. Last time he had a 6-9 losing record, but this time the 8 wins is a real possibility.
Sanyaku: The impressive youngsters don’t stop at the top of Maegashira, and making his debut in the sanyaku ranks this tournament will be another phenom, Onosato. He’s been tremendous in the top division and flown up the ranks at only 23. This man is going places too, and hasn’t hit his peak yet. Alongside him, Asanoyama will be sitting out the tournament because of an MCL injury. It’s a shame that he wasn’t able to compete in his return to sanyaku, but hopefully he’s able to recover.
Above them at Sekiwake we have go-for-broke Abi who I think can get 8 wins at this rank, but I don’t expect to put together any Ozeki runs, and solid big-bro Wakamotoharu who has put together an Ozeki run in the past and will be looking to do so again. I thought Wakamotoharu had a good shot at promotion last time but wasn’t able to capitalize on the opportunity. I think he can put another one together though.
Ozeki: I feel like it’s often the case that the Ozeki are divided into the “haves” and the “have-nots” and this time is no exception. Kirishima and Takakeisho are both struggling with injuries lately, with Kirishima coming into this tournament nursing a neck injury and kadoban and in danger of losing his rank. Takakeisho’s rank is safe but he’s in a similar boat, and both men had to withdraw from regional between-basho tournaments.
Above them, however, are the younger Ozeki who are thriving. With his new shikona, Kotozakura (former Kotonowaka) is coming off a great Ozeki debut tournament and is showing that he’s a real force. He’s got a large frame and plenty of speed, and I’m hoping he emerges as a solid Ozeki. Above him is “the nephew” Hoshoryu who after a slightly rocky debut at Ozeki has shown himself to be very solid. He’s one of the most exciting wrestlers, and always a joy to watch at the top of the sport.
Yokozuna: Talk about the walking wounded, Terunofuji seems like just one big walking injury at this point. As a healthy man his strength is pretty much unmatched, and he has tremendous Yokozuna pride, but I just always feel like he’ll struggle just to make it to day 15.
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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.
Sumo blog website Tachiai.org also recently posted about a new way to watch full NHK broadcasts in English which is very exciting, so check that out HERE.
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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