Sekiwake Mitakeumi boosted his quest for his first Emperor's Cup on Tuesday as the sekiwake easily earned his 10th consecutive victory at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
Mitakeumi met little resistance as he forced out No. 4 maegashira Kagayaki (3-7) in a bout that ended relatively fast.
Takayasu, whose kadoban status means he needs a majority of wins to keep his rank, failed to meet this objective as the ozeki was thrown down by No. 4 maegashira Kaisei (7-3) in the final bout of the day.
In a matchup that lasted nearly 20 seconds, the wrestlers tried to secure each other's mawashi belt.
Takayasu grabed Kaisei's mawashi with his left arm, but the Brazilian maegashira locked up Takayasu's left arm with his right arm and threw the ozeki to the surface of the dohyo.
Kaisei, set to go up against 10-0 Mitakeumi today, said in a post-bout interview: "I will do my best."
A pair of lower-ranked wrestlers -- No. 13 Tochiozan and No. 13 Asanoyama -- now trail Mitakeumi with two losses apiece as Tochiozan beat No. 15 Ishiura (4-6), while Asanoyama went down to No. 16 Hokutofuji (7-3).
Meanwhile, Goeido, another ozeki competing under kadoban status, slapped down komusubi Shohozan in the center of the ring to post his seventh win of the tourney. Goeido needs one win to escape kadoban status and remain an ozeki.
Popular No. 6 maegashira Endo (7-3) suffered his second consecutive loss, falling to No. 2 maegashira Chiyonokuni (6-4). After the two exchanged slaps, Endo tried to evade Chiyonokuni's power. But that turned Endo facing the outside of the ring along the bales, and Chiyonokuni did not miss the chance to push Endo out.
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