Ozeki Takayasu defeated the hottest wrestler at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament by a toe on Thursday at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
The ozeki gave sekiwake Mitakeumi his first loss of the basho with a narrow victory that needed ringside judges to decide.
Mitakeumi dropped to 11-1 in a thinned-out tourney, while Takayasu not only escaped kadoban status to hold his ozeki rank with his eighth victory, but gave the field a chance to make a last-gasp push for the Emperor's Cup this weekend.
Mitakeumi and Takayasu locked horns in the center of the ring after the start-off, before the sekiwake eventually tried to push Takayasu over the side near the bales. Both did their best to stay on their feet, and it took ringside judges to determine Takayasu had kept his toes on the bales as Mitakeumi fell to the surface.
In a basho missing three yokozuna and an ozeki, Mitakeumi will have to battle to clinch his first title, even though the two rank-and-file wrestlers right behind him both suffered defeats.
No. 4 maegashira Kaisei (8-4) took down No. 13 maegashira Asanoyama (9-3), the Brazilian-born mammoth twisting himself off the bales and getting his opponent off balance before forcing him out. That came after No. 13 maegashira Tochiozan (9-3) couldn't stave off No. 9 maegashira Myogiryu (8-4), who pushed him out of the ring and possibly out of title contention.
Ozeki Goeido (9-3) bulldozed popular No. 6 maegashira Endo (8-4) across the ring and off the dohyo right from the start-off to stay mathematically in the title chase.
Sekiwake Ichinojo (6-6) manhandled Kagayaki after the two locked up shortly after the jump-off, throwing the No. 4 maegashira down to inch closer to a winning record.
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