Yokozuna Kakuryu stepped out of his fellow Mongolian's shadow and grabbed the spotlight from the Georgian sekiwake in the finale of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday.
Kakuryu overpowered Hakuho in the final bout of the tournament to win his second straight Emperor's Cup at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
Sekiwake Tochinoshin, who drew attention early in the basho, kept his chances for a playoff alive by beating No. 5 maegashira Ikioi in the penultimate bout to improve to 13-2. But Kakuryu soon crushed the sekiwake's hopes by notching his 14th win.
After withstanding Hakuho's charge after the jump-off, Kakuryu powerfully advanced toward the edge of the ring. Hakuho pushed Kakuryu back, but Kakuryu advanced forward again, this time forcing Hakuho out of the ring.
It was Kakuryu's fifth career title, and the first time the Mongolian has won back-to-back championships. "I've aimed for this [winning a second consecutive title] for a long time since becoming a yokozuna," Kakuryu said in a TV interview.
Kakuryu suffered from injuries last year, skipping five of the six tournaments. "I wanted to deliver happiness to the people who believed in and supported me during those hard days. I was able to put that emotion into something tangible," he said.
Tochinoshin was awarded the Fighting Spirit Prize and the Technique Prize. He is expected to earn promotion to ozeki after the tournament, given his results over these past three tourneys.
Tochinoshin expressed mixed feelings after his bout, saying, "I'm happy to post 13 wins."
The sekiwake won 12 straight matches, but he lost the next two, including a loss to Kakuryu on Saturday. "I thought I could win the title when I won 12 in a row -- I'm disappointed in that regard," Tochinoshin said.
Hakuho came back to the ring after skipping two tournaments, and finished 11-4.
Unique wrestlers win prizes
Two wrestlers with unique careers shared the Fighting Spirit Prize with Tochinoshin.
Makuuchi rookie Kyokutaisei, who in this tournament became the first wrestler from Hokkaido to reach the uppermost division in 26 years, secured the honor by notching his 10th win on the last day.
"The tournament felt long. I didn't think I could win this much," the beaming No. 15 maegashira said.
No. 11 maegashira Chiyonokuni, who fell as low as the fourth-tier sandanme division three years ago because of injuries to his knees, notched his 12th win on the final day to earn the honor.
No. 2 maegashira Shohozan won the Outstanding Performance Prize.
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