Natsu 2026 kyujo

[Moti Dichne]

Yokozuna Oonosato and Ozeki Aonishiki are kyujo. On the 8th, a match-scheduling meeting was held at Ryogoku Kokugikan, and they were not included in the matches on the first and second days. The head of the judging committee,  Asakayama Oyakata, revealed that the two were absent due to injuries, saying, "We'll talk with them and their doctors. I think they're prioritizing their health." He expressed his hope for their recovery, saying, "I hope they heal from their injuries and show us their strong selves." Regarding Aonishiki, he said, "He must have been injured recently. He's been getting injured a lot lately, so I hope he recovers completely." Although he is kadoban this tournament, Asakayama said regarding his return to competition mid-basho, "I don't know. It's up to the Oyakata and the rikishi themselves to decide. It's not something we can do anything about. If he can't wrestle, it's pointless." This will be Oonosato's second consecutive tournament absence. This marks the third time in his six tournaments as a Yokozuna that he has missed a tournament, and the first time he has missed a tournament from the first day. He had been absent since the fourth day of the last basho due to a dislocated left shoulder joint, and also withdrew from the spring jungyo midway through. He did not step onto the dohyo for the Yokozuna Deliberation Council's soken on the 1st of this month, indicating that his preparation was significantly behind schedule. This is Aonishiki's first kadoban basho, and if he has a makekoshi or doesn't join this basho, he will be demoted to Sekiwake in the next tournament, when he will need ten wins to regain his Ozeki rank. He won the January tournament as a newly promoted Ozeki, but in the March Tournament, where he challenged for promotion to Yokozuna, he fractured his left little toe and finished with a record of 7 wins and 8 losses. He resumed sumo training at the end of April, but injured his left ankle during a practice bout at another heya on the 6th of this month. He cut his training short and headed to the hospital.