Wakatakakage and Wakamotoharu

[Moti Dichne]

Sekiwake Wakatakakage, who is aiming for promotion to  Ozeki next basho , did not show up for keiko at his heya in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, today, marking his second consecutive day of absence from keiko following the YDC soken yesterday.  His Oyakata, explained, "He had a fever yesterday, so we had him rest. He's fine now." He revealed that Wakatakakage plans to resume training at the Tokitsukaze Ichimon rengo keiko scheduled for the 8th, saying, "He will be absent from heya keiko tomorrow, but he will participate in the rengo keiko the day after tomorrow." He is 11 wins away from the promotion to Ozeki target of "33 wins in the last three tournaments at sanyaku." He continued to train energetically, even at the end of the summer jungyo in August, training for four consecutive days. Araiso Oyakata also said, "He had a fever so we just had him rest, but he had been training hard until the 4th, so there's no problem."

Maegashira 4W Wakamotoharu had a total of nine bouts at keiko at his heya today, against Sekiwake Kirishima  who had come to train with him and others. Regarding his preparations for the Aki basho, he commented, "I don't think it's bad." He has had back to back makekoshi in the last two tournaments as a Maegashira. Regarding his quest to return to the sanyaku ranks, he said, "The content is important. I've been struggling with getting a left-hand grip in many of my matches. I want to focus on using my own style and fight with substance rather than thinking about my rank. If I can fight well, I think my ranking will follow." A jungyo was held in his hometown of Fukushima City in August, where a special bout was scheduled against his younger brother, sekiwake Wakatakakage, thrilling local fans. "I train with Wakatakakage every day at the keiko-ba, but I'm very grateful that the audience was able to see me at the jungyo. Next- a yusho kettei-sen between us brothers," he said with a smile.