GRAND SUMO: Day 5 of the July 2025 Tournament – GRAND SUMO Highlights
Hello again. Welcome to Grand Sumo Highlights, day five of the Nagoya tournament. And the Shiny Yokazuna gave up his first Kimoshi. Lost yesterday to a rank and filer. and also the other Yokazuna gave up Akim Bosshi. First time since day three of the January tournament 2020 when two Yokozuna lost on the same day to rank and files giving both of them a gold star. But unfortunately the bad news is Horsu is out of the tournament. He’s Kujo with a big toe injury one he injured a few weeks ago and that’s recurred. The numbers didn’t look good. So, let’s hope he rests up, recovers, and come back strong in the next tournament. Once again, a good crowd in attendance. Let’s get to the action. And more bad news, another withdrawal. First time he returned to the top division in three and a half years, but Hanumi suffered a calf injury yesterday, and he’ll require a couple of weeks recovery. And Shishi gets a freebie, a feno to kick off our coverage. Actual clay coverage commences with Kotto Sho and in form Mitakeumi. Now this man’s in form as well with just the one loss Kotto Sho. He lost yesterday to rookie Fujino in a brutal bout. A kind of a soft touch eye inside grip with the right hand. Mitakimi moves forward well retreating Kotto tries to Kotonag at the edge but keeping his feet Mitakumi moves and moves well to win by Oshidashi five straight could it be multiple Yusho winner Mashida 16 it’s been done before never say never so the former Ozaki picks up his fifth straight win And actually a man that he’d had trouble with in the past. He’d only beaten him twice in nine previous, but today Kotanag is something that Kotusho tries often with Mitakumi. He tried it again today. Here’s the attempt to throw. But Mitakimi kept his feet, stayed balanced, stayed in tight, and eventually got that good push going to take Kotto back and out. Wins by Oshidashi. Cotto, the brother of Cotto Sho, steps up against veteran Shaito and two record. This man is doing well at three and one, but he takes on the rookie. Speed could be the key here for Kto. Well, the speed is from Shai, but he’s taken straight to the edge and out. Oh well, that was a surprise. Cotto Ajo looking like the former Ozeki. He picks up a Yodkitti win and picks up his third win. Same score as Shoddai. Three and two. Chronomi and Kao. First time meeting between these two. Churonomi two and two. Kao yet to get started. He is a slow beginner in his tournaments. He needs to be more positive. Move forward all the time. Cheromi, he’s been doing that well. Chermy goes for that left hand Mitsu grip as always. Moves forward. Beautiful footwork. Kaio not a lot to offer and sadly his fifth straight loss. Cheroomi saddles up now to three and two. The magitta 13 both from Okinawa. First bout bounce of the day. Kuseno, another rookie, takes on feisty Asakodu. They have met once before, but obviously not in the top division because Kuseno is in his debut here. He’s three and one. As you two and two, the speed from Asakoru important. Oh, he gets away fast and almost pulls down Kosanov who stands well. Kuseno now starts to get inside. He’s got a double inside grip as Asakoru going back and out. Well, he fought well to get back into the bout. Nice counterattack from Kusenov to pick up his fourth win. Drops Asakodu to two and three. I don’t think Asakodu did much wrong. Kuseno was just better. Fast away. Asakorio. He needed to do that. Gets that thrust straight to the chin. But as he tries to def deflect Kuseno, Kuseno stands his ground. Gets the right hand inside. And now he’s just biting his time. Gets another shove to the throat. And now the left goes in. So he’s got a double inside grip. Asakoru tries a desperate throw going backwards but covered by Kuseno for a nice yi kitty win frontal force out got a lot of pressure Kuseno they had met once before as I said when Kuseno was in Jurio and Kuseno won that bout when he picked up Asakorio but not today was a bitter struggle right to the edge Now Midori Fuji and Fujinoa first time meeting here as well with Fujinoa the debutant bloodied yesterday in the eye see it’s covered there his left eye right as we’re looking at it but Fuji started well two wins now two losses in a row mirror situation for Fujinoa well With a hand right to the chin was Midori Fuji, but now a double inside grip for Fujinoa. And he goes the lift out. Suridashi. I don’t know if the the lift went all the way to out, but it’s effectively called a Tudidashi. Technically, I don’t think so, but it’s being called a lift out. A frontal liftout win for the rookie. No punishment today, just victory to go three and two. Midori Fuji two and three. Now noridashi you lift the opponent out. Splitting hairs I suppose because it was a dynamic lift. There’s only 3 kilos difference of these smaller men in weight. Here goes Fujokawa which he gets a double inside grip and he lifts up Midori Fuji but the foot touches before he goes out. So anyway, let’s go with what they called it. Tudi dashi. A dynamic win for the rookie Fujinoa. Tokihay and Cha step on the clay. Tokihay just the one win. Chio Sharma well no wins. They met once in the top division. Chio Shoma was the winner in quickly inside with a left hand. Chio that doesn’t matter cuz the solid right hand outside grip and pulling throw. What did Dashinag goes the way of Toki Hayate? He looks so calm and he actually put Tio Sharma down very very softly. Nice win. Kioa remains winless. The oh so popular U takes on Takosho. The rivalry does favor Takenosho 6 to four. Takeno doing okay at 2 and two. U doing better at three and one in hard and fast. Both men pushing back. Takeno takes UA to the edge. He grabs the arm, slips to the side, slaps on the shoulder. Hataki Comey. The crowd with their support says it all. A popular win with the fans for UA cheering him on to go to four and one and Takeno drops to two and three. Always worried about Ura grabbing the arm of Takenosho to win by Hikake or Totari. He was thinking about it as he was taken back here. He goes to grab the arm there, but he slips to the side. Takeno lunges. Slap on the back and out. Now Roga and Ichiamamoto. Well, we saw Mitakumi earlier on go to five straight. We have another perfect starter. It’s not this man. Roger’s two and two. He’s taking on Ichyamamoto. Started well. Ichyamamoto four straight. They met five times. Roger’s got the edge three to two. Good start. Thrusting attack by Ichamoto, but it’s coming. A Moashi battle now. Fair to sayamamoto that’s not his strength, but he has got a lot better on the moashi in the last 6 months. He hasn’t had strong numbers, but he’s been consistent in his sumo. He finds himself now at minus eight. He has been higher, but he is perfecting his moashi technique. Roger’s got the ideal grip for him. Right hand in. Pretty hard to know what Ichiamoto prefers. He’s got the left hand out, not doing much with the right hand. and Roger likewise right hand in not doing a lot with the left. Goji urging them on protracted battle here. They’re normally pusher thrusters. They don’t like lengthy bouts cuz they’re not used to them. And Ichi Yamamoto is in rarified air here. They’re not doing a lot, but the pressure of each other’s body on the other, that’s what they feel. And they’re listening to the breathing of the opponent now. Itchyamoto. Well, he lost his favorite grip there, but he moves forward. Has Roger at the edge and out. A minute and 16 seconds of sheer struggle. Ichi Yamamoto sucking in the big ones. Goes 5 in 5 days. Roger drops to two and three. Well done, Itchy Yamamoto. each and every day he must be feeling far more confident going to the moashi and he tried to get it done early but Rog’s in way too close so he can’t get any extension with the pushing and thrusting so he has to go to the moashi and eventually work so hard and winsumi the veteran and Atami Fuji they’ve met four times in the pastumi’s won three of But he is struggling a little this time around. He takes on this man Atami Fuji who’s two and two. Getting a little better day by day. Just the one win so far for Satani. Right hand inside. That’s what Saturni wants. They both got the grips they prefer. Now who can do the best with what they have? Well, now Tommy Fuji looks in a strong position with that strong right hand inside. Left hand out. tries a leg trip to Saturni. That doesn’t work in probably the wrong time to try it because he had his back to the Touada and only a matter of centimeters he was taken out by a Tammy Fuji. So still one win, one and four. Tommy Fuji boosts himself to three and two. stepping up on the dojo. Hi, and Toby Zadu. All one-way traffic here. They’ve met four times. Toby Zadaru hasn’t won any of them. And it was all in 2024. 299 career wins for Hiadoomi. In hard and fast and straight out goes Toby Zaru. 300 career wins for Hiroi. Both men are now two and three. Well, Toby Zard didn’t seem to offer a lot of resistance today. You know, you’re going to get a lot of effort every time he steps up. Fast away right hand inside and takes toadu straight back and out. Now, Tobiizu is not a pure pusher thruster, but you’d think he would have started with something to keep away. Takuji and Tamawashi, two pusher thrusters, one more of a thruster, which is Tamawashi. Takad Fuji more of a pusher. He’s two and two. And Tamawashi, he’s tried to join the two men already undefeated to stay with no losses. Four straight so far in low. Tucker of Fuji. He’s denying Tamawashi some extension with his thrust. Now gets in really tight. Starts to move forward and pushes out Tamawashi. That was smart sumo. Oshidashi win. Takuji denying Tamawashi any thrusting ability. He went in low and tight. Basically did a lot of pushing. No thrusting. Takuji and used a bit of Huzawi. We’ll see that in the replay. Tamawashi his first loss. Not a big deal early. Still looking good. Now see how he comes in much lower Takuji and he does a Hazawhi out of the armpits. No chance to extend with thrusts. Tamawashi Takur Fuji stays in tight. More Hazawoshi under the armpits. A bit of pushing and eventually that pushing gets him to the edge and he wins. Oshidashi Haku Oho and Gonoyama. Out of these two, Gonoyama more of a pusher thruster. Haku Oho. He is basically a moashi man but has pushing technique. I met once before and that was July 2023. Hakuo won. Fast away. Very fast away. Koyama, thanks for coming. Almost put Hakuo halfway to the dressing room. Slight exaggeration, but he took him out a long way. speed, hand placement, good footwork, the whole combo for Goroyama wins by Oshidashi. Frontal push out. Look how quickly he gets across the dojoy. Pulling by Haku. Not a good idea, but I think confronted by the very speedy Goryama probably the only thing he could do. Me and Kim Bosan worried about me’s injuries the back before the tournament and sustaining injuries during the tournament so far but he’s got the edge in this rivalry. They’ve met four times and he’s won all of them. So good luck Kim Boza hit hard and fast May right hand inside. He wants the left in. Let’s see what he can do from this position. Kim Bozan with that big lock up on the rear. Asoto gake. Well, that denied Kim Bozan a chance to swing around me cuz he hooked the leg from the outside. The outside leg trip win for me to pick up his second win. Kim Boszan remains with one win and drops to one and four. So, they’ve met five times now. Me has won them all. He does have that knee injury that he sustained earlier in the tournament, but it’s doesn’t seem to be bothering him too much. He’s got the bad back, which has been a problem for me. Didn’t allow him to do full out training leading into the tournament. He was concerned he was worried that he may not even be able to compete, but that’s excellent. See, Kim Bosan’s thinking, I’ll pivot, swing him around. But he can’t do it because now the leg is locked up. He loses his balance and loses the bout. Osha and Wakaru. Shin Komasubi looking for his first win. Wakaharu has one win to show and it was a good one. But Oshama, he’s so laconic. He just doesn’t look interested half the time. Of course, the man on the right beat his 800th career bout today. Wakamotu pounding away but not pounding away successfully. Oshoma just slips to the side and slaps him on the back to win by Hataki Ki. So the Masha one drops to one and four. Not a happy 800th career bout now. Well, let’s hope he’s happy. You wouldn’t know it, but he picks up his first win. He’s also one and four. One of the strengths of all Sha’s sumo is defensive sumo. When he’s attacked, he can slip to the side when they least expect it. Now, Bakamaru thinks he’s in control here, but Osha just steps away. Takayasu the Komasubi takes on Wakatag doing well. Takayyasu 3 and one takes on Wakataga Kag who’s having a tough first week in the tournament. Started out with two wins but has lost to two rank and filers. Hard and fast in fact. Wakatak got away really quickly. Got an inside grip. Right hand shallow outside. In trouble early is Takayyasu. Tries a Kubinag, but now he locks up. Waka Takag could overpower him from this position. Tries a slap. Moves forward and then a big shove. Oshi Taoshi. The frontal push down win for the Komasubi. So another loss for the Siwak. Three in a row. Not a good day for the Oami brothers. Wakamo and Wakataga Kag both losing and Takayyasu stays strong and moves to 4-1 in their rivalry. Wakataga Kag has the edge 9 to5 today. Whilst in early trouble, Takayasu he was patient. All the while Wakataga Kag tried to do something with the grips and here he looked to be in control the Kubinag not successful by Takayasu but now he locks up the arms so Wakataka Kag can’t do anything with the right and the left is blocked as well so then he slaps he pushes and then he pushes out and down. Oshi Taoshi Komasubi. Many thought Wakataka Kag could be strong this tournament. Now the next of our highlight bouts of the day. Aishki and Kirishima. Wow. This man Aishki. Bit of a revelation. Well, not for all of us, but a revelation to many. Takes on Kirishima for the first time. His performance so far. A nishki outstanding. Kiddoshima the perfect start. Four straight wins. The Seekwake takes on an excitement machine who’s 3 and one. A nishki. He’s beaten Yokazuna and Ozeki and a Seekiwake already. A little high there. Kushima gets a slapping attack going. Big Harit slapped to the faces and a bit of retaliation from Anishku. Goes deep with the left. tries to get the grip on the moash. Hei gets it now. Can he pull from this position? Stepping forward Koshima and uses the uchchimuso again. Alishki beat Kotto Zakura day one with uchimuso. Just the inner thigh propping twist out. It sounds like a lot. It just means you tap their knee or their thigh or their calf and automatically they lose balance. doesn’t take a lot of power. It’s just timing. And that was perfect by Alnishki. And he’s 4-1. And now Kirishima is 4 in one. I think he surprised Aliski starting out with a slapping and thrusting attack. Nishki retaliated himself getting a few licks in, but he wanted the moashi so they could get into a grappling battle. And almost Kirishima provided Al- Nishki with the weapon that he used because the left leg is back here. Al- Nishki’s got a nice strong left grip for a pulling attempt, but he brings the left foot forward. He just taps the leg down he goes. Uchi Muso. It’s not super rare, but you don’t see it every day of the week in sumo. It doesn’t take a lot. It’s just all about the timing. And it doesn’t take a lot of strength either. Just knocks the opponent off balance. Big win. Another Seekwake for Alanki. Now the big news of the day. Yokozuna Hou. Seventh time in his career that he’s gone Kujo. He’s only been three as a Yokouna and not finishing this tournament either. He has that big toe injury and he’ll need recovery, rest time and recovery and we hope to see him back in the next tournament. Disappointing, but he had a disappointing start with a 1 and3 record. He’s already given up eight career Kimoshi. So Oh gets a free one to pick up his second win to go two and three. So no Kimoshi. You have to actually fight the opponent to get the gold star. Kotto Zakura and Onokatu first time meeting here. So this is an interesting battle. Onukatu is developing. Kotto Zakura not quite back to his best. He’s two and two. Let’s see if he can control. Good hit. Onatu goes for a left shallow then goes Makikai. Changes grip inside outside to in. But while he’s thinking about it, moving forward and not with his favorite grip, Porto Zakura takes him to the edge and out. Wins by Yikitti. Well, they looked pretty comfortable. He was being Ktoaka at his best here. I think he adjusted during the bout. from an inside grip to outside grip. He likes right hand in, left hand out. And with that change of grip by Onatu, he ended up with left in, right out. Not what he wants, but he still wins with it to pick up his third win. Now the final bout of the day. It’s Abby. Can he get another Kimoshi? He takes on Yokazuna Onoato who gave up his first Kimoshi losing to a rank and father yesterday as a Yokazuna. They’ve met seven times. Aby’s won three of them. And he likes to start with his two arm thrust. Can Onos handle it or can Abby do something big again? There’s the two arm hit, but Onosato moves forward and out goes Abby. Well, question answered. Oshidashi the Yokazuna bounces back from that defeat. He moves to four and one and Abby 3 and two. What an interesting tournament we have. We were hoping we were going to have two Yokazuna competing each and every day right to the end and have the two Yokazuna competing on the final day in the final bout, but that’s not going to happen. But we’re seeing the growth of Aishki. We’re seeing Siwake some doing well, some not. Some performances, surprising ones, surprising wins. And Iamamoto and Mitakui leading the way and a handful or more chasing with one loss. Well, that’s day five action done and dusted. Hope you enjoyed it and come back tomorrow for more Grand Sumo Highlights.
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Day 5 upper division bouts from the July 2025 GRAND SUMO Tournament.