Asanoyama

[Moti Dichne]

Makushita 14W ex-Ozeki Asanoyama was at the YDC soken training session as well. He had three bouts against other Makushitans and was 2-1. He too can make it back to Juryo in July if he gets that 7-0 yusho. "I was happy. It has been a while since I last mounted the Kokugikan dohyo, and while I was warming up before the match and moving my body outside of the dohyo, I noticed that the Kokugikan was really big. Rather than feeling like I was back, I felt happy that I could compete here again." Last basho was held in Osaka, where he returned after a 4 basho absence, so it's been a while since he mounted the  dohyo at the Kokugikan, which was in January last year. "There is a condition to be within the top 15 (a perfect seven-match win to be promoted to Juryo ), but if I can just do my own sumo each day without getting injured, I think the results will come. Anyway, I'm not going to think too much about the future, I'm going to focus on the joy of being able to enter the basho and remember my gratitude," he said, emphasizing that it's all about facing one bout at a time, rather than getting too hung up on the results.