The Natsu Basho (Summer Grand Sumo Tournament) has just finished. At the beginning of the day, Hokutoriki led the field with 13 victories. Yokozuna Asashoryu was in second place with 12 wins.
All that Hokutoriki needed to do was to beat a new entrant into the upper division named Hakuho.
Hakuho ended up beating Hokutoriki with a henka move (a quick shift to the side from the start,) followed by a slap-down. It was a pretty cheap way to wrestle a guy who was playing for the tournament championship. (If there is a decisive match, rikishis should try to avoid using the henka technique. It kind of cheapens the whole competition.)
Hokutoriki's loss, coupled with Asashoryu's victory over Ozeki Chiyotaikai, meant that there would be a one-match playoff for the tournament championship.
In the playoff, Yokozuna beat Hokutoriki for his third-straight tournament win.
Even though I was happy to see the Yokozuna win (he's really cool!) I felt sad for Hokutoriki. He looked so disappointed that he lost two matches in one day. I hope that Hokutoriki doesn't get discouraged for the next tournament.
The next tournament will be in July in Nagoya. My wife, my son, and my in-laws will go to see sumo on day 13 of the Nagoya basho. I am really excited! I have never sat in massu-seki. That will be like a dream-come-true.
The victorious Yokozuna Asashoryu:
