Wakatakakage
Moti Dichne
Sekiwake Wakatakakage, who will be aiming for Ozeki at the Aki Basho, showed off his excellent condition, showing no signs of being affected by not being able to doe sumo for three days due to a high fever. On the 8th, he participated in the Tokitsukaze Ichimon rengo-keiko, held at the sumo training center at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. He fought a total of 11 matches with the sekitori, with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses. The breakdown of the results is as follows:
○ Kirishima (oshidashi)
● Shounannoumi (yorikiri)
○ Kirishima (yorikiri)
○ Tamawashi (oshidashi)
○ Daieishou (oshidashi)
○ Shoudai (yorikiri)
● Kirishima (oshidashi)
○ Tamawashi (yorikiri)
○ Kirishima (yorikiri)
○ Tamawashi (okuridashi)
● Daieishou (oshidashi)
He won four consecutive matches against skilled opponents, all of whom had reached the rank of Sekiwake or higher and demonstrated his ability to continuously push forward, using sharp first steps and thrusts. "I was determined to train hard. I have just recovered from an illness, so I worked up a good sweat and checked my senses while I was fighting," he said, expressing his satisfaction. On the night of the 4th of this month, he developed a fever. According to his Arashio Oyakata , his fever was about 38.5 degrees Celsius. As a result, he missed the YDC soken on the 5th. However, his fever soon subsided, and he took precautions by working on the basics on the 6th and 7th. This was his first keiko session in four days. Regarding the impact of this, Wakatakakage emphasized that there were no problems, saying, "There's no problem. I'm in good physical condition." He won 12 matches as a Komusubi two tournaments ago and 10 matches as a Sekiwake last tournament. The standard for promotion to Ozeki is "33 wins in three tournaments as a sanyaku wrestler," which he will reach with 11 wins this tournament, and there is a good chance of promotion even with just 10 wins. As this tournament will be his first time with a clear goal of becoming an Ozeki, he is full of energy, saying, "This is the rank I've been aiming for, so I want to approach the basho without any regrets. Every single match, I want to fight with my own style of sumo, attacking from down low. I want to train hard and prepare my body and mind before going in," he explained. Wakatakakage, who is usually tells it like it is, spoke with the utmost enthusiasm, revealing the strength of his desire to be promoted to Ozeki.