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- Nov 7, 2005
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Another sumo tournament has arrived! Unfortunately, this one will have a dark shadow cast over it, both with the first three days being held without spectators due to COVID fears, but far more importantly coming after the death of Hibikiryu (real name Amano Mitsuki). We've all talked about the need for the sport to change in many ways, but there has been a lot of negative press for the sport because of the shameful way his injury was handled which might actually lead to something happening. I wouldn't expect anything major though, unfortunately. It's been pretty eye-opening and I think even more than the other negative aspects of the sport (the nationalism and anti-foreigner sentiment, corruption, violence, long-term health effects) I think the complete lack of regard for Hibikiryu's safety and the inability for those in power to see him as a human being in distress has made me question my support for the sport. If I was in the position to, I definitely wouldn't support the sport and the NSK monetarily by buying tickets until something fundamental changed. But what can I say, I still love the sport....
Let's take a look at the rankings:
Maegashira: This was brought up by @JacJeanFinger in the previous tournament thread, but this is a pretty rare tournament where nobody is making their debut in either of the top two divisions, or in any of the top division's Sanyaku ranks. It's only the second time in history this has happened and the last time was also in May, in 1966. More news in Maegashira, Ryuden will be suspended this tournament for breaching COVID-19 protocols. Most of the excitement in Maegashira comes in the top half of the ranks this time, with Hoshoryu continuing his rise up the ranks. We also have Tobizaru making a pretty big jump up the ranks on the back of a nice 10-5 tournament. And the commentator's nightmare, Wakatakakage is poised to earn promotion to Sanyaku this tournament.
Komosubi and Sekiwake: There should be some excitement coming from these guys as well. Yusho-winner in January, Daieisho didn't have a blowout performance in March, but he still had a solid 8-7 tournament. But we've seen that when he's on, he dominates. His Komosubi counterpart, Mitakeumi is solid at this rank, but I wouldn't expect him to challenge for the championship. Takanosho is also very solid at this rank, and while I wouldn't expect him to challenge for the Yusho, he should get his 8 wins comfortably and I think one of these days he'll have a breakout tournament as a Sekiwake. And finally, Takayasu.... The March tournament was really heartbreaking for him, as he looked so close to getting his first tournament only to stumble at the final hurdle and have a pretty disastrous final few days. Can he make up for that here? I'd love to see it and he's a very likable guy, but I think his opportunities have come and gone.
Ozeki: The biggest story at the sport's second-highest rank (and the highest rank actually competing) will definitely be Terunofuji's return to Ozeki. His career is a pretty amazing one, and the way that he fought his way back is just a great story. I'd probably put him down as the front-runner for the championship. Shodai however, will be in the unenviable position Terunofuji once found himself in, fighting for his rank. Coming off a 7-8 tournament, Shodai needs to turn things around. He was looking really solid during his Ozeki promotion run, but since being promoted to the rank he's not looked that great. I think of him as a pretty defensive rikishi, and that means he gets himself in tough situations pretty frequently and he just hasn't been able to turn things around as much as he used to. Hopefully that changes here, though.
Takakeisho looks great when he's on form, but his cardio has been an issue and as a pusher-thruster with a very short, round body, when things go wrong for him he struggles to get back into the fight. Finally, at the top of the rankings Asanoyaua hasn't set the world on fire the way I would have expected him to, but he's been by far the most solid Ozeki and apart from the tournament he withdrew from, has gotten double-digit wins every time. I think he just needs to turn things up a bit, maybe even just a slight adjustment at the tachiai or a few more pounds of muscle, to take the next step.
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And with Kakuryu's retirement and Hakuho out, recovering from an injury, that's it!
Viewing Options: Youtube channels like Kintamayama and NattoSumo are great for daily highlights.
There are also Twitch channels streaming full broadcasts live every day, and while catching sumo live isn't always that easy from the West, their channels are great places to go for VODs. Mbovosumo streams the NHK broadcast, and Karla_sumoist I believe streams the Abemo broadcasts from the lowest divisions to the top.
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 head over to the Introduction to SUMO thread to get a basic, although probably outdated, introduction to the sport.
Hakke-yoi!
(as usual I'll just @ everyone that has posted in recent sumo threads)
@babycart @EL CORINTHIAN @shincheckin @rmongler @JkMMA @PurpleStorm @Asurah @Sano @josh from md @Okajima @RJ Green @winterbike @LC Shepard @Bluesbreaker @hyu244 @s_o_c_a_r @Slick_36 @Senshi @Muppettoker @argy-bargy @ChainFlow @Oshime2 @DatCutman @catchwrestle @rodgerdodger @Sapp @Apollo33 @MoreKane @BoxingMMA @dkjt @-guerilla- @ChickenBrother @INTERL0PER @what-wut @Adjaar @TheRuthlessOne @elreece @Tone C @loyalyolayal @Nameless King @GSP_37 @Kaybee @Fluffernutter @Stormtrooper85 @Jin Akutsu @AZ103 @Sumomike @listrahtes @BananaManPoo
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