Ura

[Moti Dichne]

Ura is reaching the final stretch of preparations. Today he faced the lower rankers of his heya and was 12-1. He is already in Fukuoka where the weather is milder than in Tokyo. "It's really nice," he agreed. "Every year, the head of the koenkai (local support group) here brings me fresh fish from the market so every meal is really a delight.. " he said. The Kyushu basho has always been good to him.. Last year he had 10 wins and got his first special prize there. Other than the one time he was kyujo, he always got his kachikoshi in Kyushu. "It feels refreshing to be here and the wind is nice. I prefer cool weather," he added. He had three kachikoshi and two makekoshi this year. "Yeah, I'm a bit unstable.. I'm not getting stronger either. I feel I have been gambarizing well, though. Deep inside, I feel I am really doing well but people around me quite vocally think I should gambarize more," he said. Still, he agrees that he should aim for sanyaku. "People in Fukuoka are cheering me on to go higher. I agree I need to do that. I hope to fight the 15 days without injury. It's all about doing that, right?" he summed.