Yokozuna Kakuryu defeated ozeki Goeido at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka on Saturday to secure his fourth Emperor's Cup.
The Mongolian grand champ withstood the ozeki's charge at the jump-off, then sent him rolling out of the dohyo with a rough-and-ready slap-down. The move wasn't pretty -- but it did earn him his all-important 13th victory of the basho.
Earlier, the three other wrestlers still in contention for the Cup at the beginning of Day 14 all notched vital wins, meaning it was up to the yokozuna to decide his own fate and rule them out of contention. He did what he had to do, sending Goeido to his fifth defeat.
Kakuryu has struggled with injuries, having not won a title in eight tournaments. In a TV interview, he was clearly relieved.
"Last year was tough. I wanted to make the people who supported me happy," he said. "I wasn't too concerned about the style of sumo; I'm just really glad I was able to win. I want to go out and win again tomorrow."
In the penultimate bout, ozeki Takayasu (11-3) had a crowd-pleasing victory, this time against sekiwake Mitakeumi (6-8). Theirs was a ferocious battle full of shoves, slides, heaves -- and one dramatic spin on the bales by Takayasu that saw him escape the jaws of defeat and go on to slap Mitakeumi to the surface.
Kaisei's 11th win came after he used his large frame well against No. 13 maegashira Daishomaru (9-5), first to soak up his opponent's charge at the jump-off, and then to dump him over the edge.
No. 14 maegashira Ikioi (11-3) easily shoved out diminutive No. 12 maegashira Ishiura (7-7).
Meanwhile, sekiwake Tochinoshin forced No. 5 maegashira Chiyomaru (6-8) out with a textbook frontal push for his ninth win. Komusubi Ichinojo (9-5) didn't take long to get to grips with No. 4 maegashira Shodai (7-7), and halt a run of three straight losses.
No. 1 maegashira Endo (9-5) sent No. 6 maegashira Hokutofuji (6-8) packing with some quick thinking and light feet at the ring's edge.
No. 11 maegashira Yutakayama earned an impressive 10th win of the basho, evading No. 13 maegashira Asanoyama (8-6).
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