The seconds continued to tick away with the wrestlers locked in a stalemate, neither wanting to make the first move. When sekiwake Mitakeumi became the first to crack, that gave yokozuna Hakuho the opening he had patiently awaited.
Hakuho came out on top in an elongated showdown with the ozeki hopeful, earning his ninth win in nine days to remain tied for the lead with fellow yokozuna Kakuryu on Monday at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo.
In a bout that lasted 1 minute 21 seconds, Hakuho and Mitakeumi locked up like statues in the center, each with a belt hold. When Mitakeumi finally initiated an attack, Hakuho shuffled to the side to gain leverage, then used a hand to the throat to force the sekiwake out of the ring.
Mitakeumi, who won the previous Nagoya tournament in the absence of all three yokozuna, saw his hopes of a second straight championship all but end as his record dropped to 6-3. He can still earn promotion to ozeki, but has few losses to spare as he faces the top wrestlers over the final days.
Kakuryu remained unbeaten when he pushed out a spinning No. 3 maegashira Endo.
Yokozuna Kisenosato, who has staked his injury-plagued career on the results of this tournament, outlasted ozeki Tochinoshin (5-4) in a clash of raw power, eventually forcing him out to improve to 7-2.
The two other ozeki, Takayasu and Goeido, remained one win off the lead when both fought off spirited attacks by their opponents to improve to 8-1.
Takayasu came out with his eighth win when, in a flurry of activity at the edge, No. 4 maegashira Chiyonokuni tried to gain traction by pushing off the straw bales, only to see his foot slip off and land outside the ring. Goeido weathered the slapping attack of komusubi Takakeisho, maintained his base and pushed him over the edge.
Komusubi Tamawashi's days in the sanyaku -- the three ranks below yokozuna -- are now limited after he suffered his makekoshi eighth loss, having been pushed to the edge by No. 1 maegashira Kaisei, then slapped down to the dirt on the counter.
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