Yokozuna Kisenosato got off to a dismal start in his first bout of 2019, succumbing to komusubi Mitakeumi at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in which his career is at stake.
Winners on Sunday at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan included the other two yokozuna, Hakuho and Kakuryu, as well as sekiwake Takakeisho, who won the Kyushu tournament in November.
In the final bout of the day, Kisenosato seized Mitakeumi after the jump-off and slowly advanced. However, Mitakeumi withstood the yokozuna's pressure near the edge of the ring and fought back, eventually pushing Kisenosato out.
The injury-prone Kisenosato last year was only able to compete over the entire 15 days of a tournament once.
The overall number of wins he collected in 2018 was just 11, making the New Year tournament a critical basho that could determine the yokozuna's career.
Meanwhile, the three ozeki all had miserable starts as Takayasu, Goeido and Tochinoshin suffered losses.
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