The Mongolian-born grand champion has a two-win cushion over a trio of sumo wrestlers as he heads into the second half of the 15-day Nagoya Basho.
The ex-ozeki relied on experience to shove out the newly promoted sekiwake, who couldn't mount a counterattack in their Nagoya Basho match.
The native of Ishikawa Prefecture looks for back-to-back championships as he debuts at sumo's third-highest rank at the Nagoya Basho.
A native of Ishikawa, the 23-year-old Onosato is inspiring fans in his home prefecture and giving sumo a much-needed boost in popularity.
Newly promoted komusubi Onosato, who went 12-3 in the Summer Basho, has contended in every tournament since his January debut in the elite division.
The native of Ishikawa Prefecture is gaining more confidence by the day at the 15-day Summer Basho in Tokyo as he pursues his first championship.
In his komusubi debut, Onosato kicked off his bid for the Emperor's Cup at the Summer Basho with an impressive win over the Mongolian yokozuna.
After finishing as the runner-up at the New Year Basho, Sadogatake wrestler Kotonowaka joins three others at sumo's second-highest rank.
Terunofuji, Kirishima and Atamifuji are just three of the sumo grapplers who will be in the spotlight when the 15-day New Year Basho kicks off on...