Sports

Onosato Takes on Nagoya Basho, Determined to Rise

The native of Ishikawa Prefecture looks for back-to-back championships as he debuts at sumo's third-highest rank at the Nagoya Basho.

Published

4 months ago

July 12, 2024

Jim Armstrong

Sekiwake Onosato trains on July 8, 2024, in the run-up to the Nagoya Basho in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture. (KYODO)

Up-and-coming grappler Onosato is aiming to continue his meteoric rise up the ranks when he makes his sekiwake debut at the Nagoya Basho, which starts on Sunday, July 14.

The 24-year-old native of Ishikawa Prefecture was promoted to sumo's third-highest rank ahead of the 15-day Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament after winning his first championship at the Summer Basho in May as a komusubi.

"This will be an important tournament so I want to give it my all," Onosato said, according to Kyodo News. "I want to keep giving it my best without letting my guard down."

Onosato, who just turned pro in the summer of 2023, electrified the sumo world when he went 12-3 in the May tournament to win a championship after just seven professional meets. That beat the previous record of 10 set by Takerufuji in the March tourney.

Another dominant performance for Onosato at the Nagoya Basho could open the door for promotion to the second-highest rank of ozeki.

Terunofuji's Health Remains a Big Question Mark for Nagoya Basho

In January, grand champion Terunofuji won the New Year Basho for his ninth Emperor's Cup. But then he was unable to complete the next two tournaments due to injury.

As has been the case for much of the past year, his status is uncertain. For now, the yokozuna is listed on the Japan Sumo Association's official rankings for the upcoming meet but the chances he will pull out are always high.

Onosato defeated Terunofuji on the opening day of the May tournament, ending the grand champion's quest for a 10th Emperor's Cup.

Some have called that an "era-defining" bout as it could signal a changing of the guard from the yokozuna to younger wrestlers.

Kotozakura, Hoshoryu Look Like Top Contenders

If Terunofuji is indeed unable to compete, Onosato's main competition is most likely to come from the ozeki pair of Kotozakura and Mongolian Hoshoryu.

It has been an impressive year so far for Kotozakura and it seems like a first championship could happen anytime.

Fighting as sekiwake Kotonowaka, the native of Chiba Prefecture went 13-2 in the New Year meet and was awarded the tournament's Technique Prize.

He was then promoted to ozeki, going 10-5 in his debut at the rank in the Spring Basho. Ahead of May's Summer Basho, he assumed the name his grandfather used, Kotozakura, as a yokozuna and went an impressive 11-4.

Hoshoryu captured the Emperor's Cup last year in Nagoya with a 12-3 record for his first elite division title, a result that earned the Mongolian promotion to ozeki.

He went 11-4 in the March tournament and 10-5 in May. The feeling around sumo is that the Tatsunami stable wrestler has yet to reach his full potential.

Takakeisho Faces Pressure

Injury-plagued Takakeisho comes into the Nagoya meet as a kadoban ozeki, meaning he needs at least eight wins to maintain his status.

This is nothing new for the native of Hyogo Prefecture who hasn't completed a full tournament since November of 2023 after he won the championship in September of that year.

He pulled out after losing to Hiradoumi on the first day of the May tournament so if nothing else, Takakeisho should be well-rested.

Kirishima Seeks Better Results

Another wrestler looking for a measure of redemption in the Nagoya meet will be sekiwake Kirishima.

The Mongolian made his ozeki debut in 2023 in this tournament but has struggled to find consistency at the second-highest rank.

He did win the 2023 November tournament with a 13-2 record for his second makuuchi division championship. But he went 5-10 and 1-6-8 in his previous two tournaments to lose his ozeki rank.

So the question is this: Which Kirishima will show up at Nagoya Prefectural Gymnasium when the tournament kicks off on Sunday?

This will be the last Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament to be held at the prefectural gymnasium, also known as Dolphins Arena. The event will be held at the brand new state-of-the-art IG Arena beginning in 2025.

Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.