Sumo: Promotion-chasing Onosato improves to 11-0

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Onosato remained the class act of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, improving to 11-0 on Wednesday to maintain his two-win lead at the 15-day meet.

The sekiwake, in line for promotion to sumo’s second-highest rank of ozeki with one more win at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan, patiently took on the charge of No. 4 maegashira Kotoshoho (5-6), halted him in his tracks and drove him backward out of the ring.

The winner of May’s Summer tourney as a komusubi with a 12-3 mark, Onosato went 9-6 in July as a sekiwake. He now needs one more win to reach the unofficial benchmark of 33 by a wrestler at either of those two ranks over three straight tournaments.

Sekiwake Kirishima and two maegashira wrestlers, No. 13 Nishikigi and No. 15 Takayasu, remained two wins back of the 24-year-old Onosato.

Kirishima went back to basics a day after his frowned-upon “henka” opening failed miserably against Onosato. Rival sekiwake Abi (2-9) charged forward but was met with a left-handed shove that staggered him and left him vulnerable to a slap-down defeat.

Nishikigi outlasted No. 7 Wakatakakage in a battle of maegashira wrestlers with identical 8-2 records. Nishikigi handled his opponent’s last-ditch lunge by getting a vice-like grip on his left arm and finishing him with a “kotenage” arm-lock throw.

Takayasu, a former ozeki wrestling at No. 15, made short work of No. 8 maegashira Endo (7-4).

The ozeki duo of Hoshoryu (6-5) and Kotozakura (7-4), the tournament’s top ranked wrestlers in the absence of injured yokozuna Terunofuji, both suffered upset losses.