Yokozuna Hakuho left the ring with his fingers intact and a victory on the opening day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, while fellow yokozuna Kakuryu never made it after pulling out prior to the start of action with a back injury.
Hakuho, aiming for a record-extending 43rd championship, slapped down komusubi Hokutofuji in the final bout of the day at Fukuoka Kokusai Center on Sunday.
At the previous Autumn tournament in September, Hakuho lost his opening bout to the very same Hokutofuji, then withdrew with a broken finger on his right hand.
As speculation still swirls as to when the 34-year-old Hakuho will retire, he said Friday that his condition was close to that when he won the Spring tournament in March with a perfect record, giving him the most recent of his 42 titles.
Hokutofuji, who returned to komusubi after four tournaments, is one of four in the tournament, the first time there is a quartet at that rank since November 2006.
For Kakuryu, who had pulled out of the Autumn tournament on the eighth day due to a left knee injury, it could mark the third year in a row that he is missing the entire Kyushu tournament. The diagnosis calls for two weeks of treatment, which likely rules out a late return.
Kakuryu's withdrawal gave komusubi Asanoyama a victory in his debut in the sanyaku ranks -- the three ranks below yokozuna.
In other action, ozeki Takakeisho marked his return to the second-highest rank by pushing out No. 1 maegashira Okinoumi. Takakeisho was demoted to sekiwake for the September tournament, but regained his ozeki rank after posting a 12-3 record, which put him into a playoff with Mitakeumi for the Emperor's Cup that he lost.
Ozeki Takayasu, fighting for his rank for the third time as a kadoban -- meaning he needs to finish with a winning record to avoid demotion -- put on an impressive show of brute force when he blasted No. 1 maegashira Daieisho across the ring and out.
The third ozeki, Goeido, was the lone one to go down to defeat when he was forced down by komusubi Endo in a scrappy bout. Goeido, who appeared to injure his left ankle as he crumbled to the ground, has now lost to Endo in four straight tournaments.
Sekiwake Mitakeumi started strong in his bid for a second straight title -- and possible promotion to ozeki -- when he slapped down an overexuperant No. 2 maegashira Myogiryu.
Sekiwake Tochinoshin, hoping to notch the 10 wins he needs to regain the ozeki rank he lost for a second time in his career, got off to a rough start when the Georgian was flung down by No. 2 maegashira Meisei.
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