Fall of the Mighty Mongolian
Asashoryu headed for a wrist injury as Wakanosato watches. On the 2nd day of the May sumo tournament in Tokyo, the nearly invicible yokozuna Asashoryu injured his wrist when he took an accidental dive off the mound while fighting his challenger Wakanosato. He was forced to withdraw from the competition and may miss the next tournament as well. This means a huge opportunity for other wrestlers to make a move to the position of grand champion, the ozeki (second-rank wrestlers) only need to win 2 tournaments in a row to earn promotion. I was originally rooting for ozeki Tochiazuma to grab the championship, but he withdrew from contention with a knee injury on Saturday. So far, as of the 9th day of the tournament, it's a 3-way tie between Chiyotaikai, Miyabiyama, and Hakuho to take the tournament.
Oddly enough, although I'm excited about potentially having a new grand champion, I kind of miss Asashoryu, the wrestler I love to loathe--his arrogance, his pompous strut, even his milky-white smooth skin. Hopefully he's back in action soon. In the meantime, click below to watch the match that took him out of commision.
While browsing youtube, I found this oldie-but-goodie footage of my all-time favorite, Takami Sakari fighting Asashoryu. (Takami is the enthusiastic one.) Hopefully, you'll see why I love him.
CLICK HERE to see the Bug Brother's latest discovery.
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Asa might be a bit arrogant, but you can't blame him. He's so bloody good! He's stronger than most and has such a variety of techniques, people can't compete with him. Plus when it comes to to the play-off crunch that arrogance helps with his mental edge.
I'm chuffed to see Hakuho getting up there and a bit disappointed in Kotooshu's dip in form. I guess his injury is still affecting him.
I truly did miss Asashoryu wrestling in the tournament. I don't really hate him, it's just that he's totally dominated the sport the entire time we've been here. I like seeing someone else win for a change. Hopefully he returns fully recovered from his injury.
I think he's going to have much more competition from now on since Hakuho got a taste of winning a tournament. Also, Baruto is going to be tough, and Tochiazuma and Chiyotaikai are going to be really aiming for yokozuna so they can be at the top when they retire. If Kotooshu can get over his injuries, he should be able to move up to yokozuna at least within the next couple of years, I would think.
Oh yeah, and Miyabiyama is going to be a good competitor, also. So sad I'm leaving when sumo's getting so exciting.
Now you know why people don't comment on my sumo entries much--they can't get me to shut up.
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