Tamawashi and Kotoshouhou

[Moti Dichne]

"Iron Man" Maegashira 1 Tamawashi (40), who is currently breaking the all-time record of 1,718 consecutive appearances in sumo since his debut, showed his spirit in keiko like a young rikishi. Today he participated in the joint training session of the Nishonoseki Ichimon, held at Sadogatake beya. With 16 sekitori from the Itchy-mom gathered in preparation for the Aki basho, Tamawashi was ranked high in both the number of matches and the winning percentage, with 9 wins and 2 losses from a total of 11 matches. After pushing out Maegashira Kotoshouhou, winner of the previous tournament, for a fifth consecutive win, he became fatigued and quit, although as the winner he would have faced another rikishi. After keiko, when the press told him that he had competed in a total of 11 matches, he was surprised himself, saying, "What, 11 matches?! That's stupid (laughing)." Initially, he "had absolutely no intention" of competing in such a large number of matches. However, he said, "It's been a while since I last practiced, so I was getting more and more excited," suggesting his natural fighting instincts have been ignited. Towards the end of the 26-day summer jungyo, he withdrew from the Aomori City tour on August 20th after submitting a medical certificate for "lumbar spondylosis and acute lower back pain." During the joint practice today, he displayed lively movements and energy that made you forget the fact that he is the oldest sekitori. If he gets a kachikoshi in Aki, he is likely to achieve his long-held goal of returning to sanyaku, becoming the oldest rikishi to do so. His passionate training not only ensured that he could continue his streak of consecutive appearances since his debut, but also suggested that he has a good chance of becoming the oldest sanyaku rikishi ever.

Kotoshouhou,  East Maegashira 5, who won his first yusho last basho participated in the Nishonoseki Ichimon rengo keiko today at  Sadogatake beya. He went 5-4 in 9 matches, including four consecutive wins. Even against a skilled opponent, he displayed a style of sumo that combined speed and power, such as quickly thrusting Maegashira Ouhou out from the tachiai by tsukidashi. After keiko, he commented, "There were some matches where I was able to do forward-moving sumo, but there were also times when I was pushed up and attacked, so I want to improve my sumo so that I can fight better. I want this to be a stepping stone towards getting into Sanyaku. I think I need one more breakthrough. I want to go all out." he said enthusiastically.