Training news- March 3rd

[Moti Dichne]

Ozeki Kotozakura who will be in his first kadoban status this basho, had  19 bouts (13-6 overall) against Sekiwake Daieishou, Sekiwake Ouhou and others who came for degeiko at his heya in Matsubara City, Osaka today. At the end of the training session, he was pushed out by Maegashira 2 Gounoyama who was pushing forward as usual, and there was a scene where he stomped his left foot, which had a supporter wrapped around his knee, on the ring in frustration. ``I don't think about whether (the training content) is good or bad. I just face each day as it comes.'' He seems to be accepting his own condition and intends to face the first day, saying, ``I will prepare and do what I can. I will respond to what I can.'' Last year, he won his first championship at the Kyushu basho with 14 wins, but last basho, when he had his first Yokozuna run, he unexpectedly lost 10. He has experienced both highs and lows in the past two tournaments. and will need to put aside those ups and downs and focus on the preparations with less than a week left, says the reporter.

Maegashira  Gounoyama  went to Sadogatake in Matsubara, Osaka for degeiko today and had 17 bouts, going 10-7. He faced Ozeki Kotozakura and was 4 wins and 4 losses against him. Before his opponent could get his favorite migi-yotsu grip, Gounoyama applied pressure forward without stopping and attacked. "It was a good training session," he reflected. Gounoyama is from Neyagawa, Osaka. He is ranked East Maegashira 2 for Haru, half a rank above his previous highest ranking, and is also in the running to reach Sanyaku  At the "Spring is Here! Umekita Tournament in Grand Front Osaka"  held on the 2nd, he vowed to do his best in Haru, saying in front of 4,000 people, "I want to work hard and aim for Sanyaku." He plans to continue training at Sadogatake beya leading up to opening day. "I need to win against the sanyaku ranks and above. I'm weak when my mawashi is grabbed, so I need to focus on pushing," he said, and will  continue to train in order to deal with this.