Yokozuna Houshouryuu went for degeiko at Isegahama beya for the second consecutive day of training today and injured his toe. He faced Hakuouhou and Kusano before injuring his left big toe midway through keiko and cutting the session short earlier than planned after having ten bouts in all. Sekiwake Kirishima also came for degeiko. "I wanted to face him,, but if I had gone on, I might have aggravated the injury." he said. He acknowledged the abilities of newcomer Kusano, saying, "He seems like he'll be a good training opponent." Tomorrow he will stay at home as he has a dedicated dohyo iri at the Atsuta Jingu Shrine. Asked where he intends to train on Sunday, he answered that he doesn't know yet.
New Yokozuna Oonosato, who is aiming for his third consecutive yusho at Nagoya had 18 consecutive bouts against Makushita Hananoumi at the Nishonoseki beya in Anjo City, Aichi Prefecture today, going 13 - 5l. He also did a lot of basic exercises such as shiko and suriashi, and said, "It's quite tough when I'm doing sumo. I'm doing it at my own pace without getting impatient." Hananoumi, who is 173 cm tall, continued to hit Oonosato with all his might from a low position against the 192 cm tall Oonosato. There was also a scene where the Yokozuna couldn't help but pull back and was pushed out. He talked of his expectations from the 22-year-old hopeful Hananoumi who is ranked Makushita 7W and has a chance to become a new Juryo, saying, "He doesn't let his guard down, so I can go all out. I want him to be promoted before the end of the year, and I want to mentor him." Yesterday, during a break from keiko, all the rikishi celebrated the 39th birthday of their Oyakata Nishonoseki (former Yokozuna Kisenosato). "We all gave each other cake as a present. It was a good time to take a break and relax," he said happily. Tomorrow he will take part in the Atsuta Shrine dedication ring-entering ceremony, and then he will go to for degeiko to further prepare for opening day. "I'm in good shape, so I want to keep doing my best," he said with confidence.
New Makuuchi Kusano faced degeiko-ing Yokozuna Houshouryuu today at the Isegahama beya in Mizuho Ward, Nagoya. "His tachiai was quick," he said, losing all three bouts, but there were also moments he managed to push forward, and he commented, "If I lose so easily, people might think, 'that's all Kusano can do..' so I'm glad I was able to move forward as well." The Makuuchi hopeful, who is coming off two consecutive Juryo yushos, struggled with the Nagoya heat, saying, "I'm going to work hard so I don't get exhausted.."
Makushita 1W and ex-Ozeki Asanoyama who is trying to recover from a serious injury to his left knee, trained at his heya in Kaifu-gun, Aichi Prefecture today. He had 18 bouts with Makuuchi Ouhou and Gounoyama who came to train with him, and made his presence felt with 15 wins and 3 losses. After winning 8 consecutive matches against Makushita rikishi, he moved on to face the sekitori. He had 2 wins and 3 losses against Ouhou, and 5 wins against Gounoyama. "I'm grateful that Ouhou and Gounoyama came. My Takasago beya doesn't have a rikishi with the kind of power Gounoyama has. I was able to do some training that I can't usually do," he said, expressing his gratitude. Against Gounoyama, he was pushed to the edge of the dohyo from the start of the match, but he got his right hand in and pulled back, showing no signs of being affected by his injured left knee. "I think the fact that I was able to stay at the edge of the dohyo despite being pushed back is also something that happens during the basho. It was good," he said, nodding. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a bout on the fourth day of of the Nagoya tournament last year. After surgery and rehabilitation, he returned to the Sandanme division at this year's Spring tournament. He won all his matches in Sandanme and went on to win six matches and lose one in the summer tournament at Makushita 14W. A return to sekitori is on the horizon. "Before I knew it, a year had passed. I remember what all that was like. I think there is something I gained because of that injury. although tearing my anterior cruciate ligament nearly made me give up." Even when he was forced to miss six tournaments due to a scandal as an Ozeki, he returned from the Sandanme division. "A year felt long when I was suspended. This time it was an injury. I couldn't wrestle, and after rehabilitation and discussions with my master and doctor, I arrived at the March tournament. It went by quickly. This time I was worried about recovering from the injury. It was a knee injury at 31 years old. It was scary." Regarding his return to Juryo, he plans to take it "one step at a time, steadily, and avoid injury." "I want to get back to the top division soon. I want to fight a Yokozuna," he said, hinting at his eagerness to face Oonosato. He faced Oonosato twice, once during a training session at Nishonoseki beya in January 2012 after the announcement of his new Makuuchi promotion, and once during a tour.
