Sekiwake Tochinoshin, riding high from his stunning championship run in January, was brought to Earth on Monday when he lost to No. 1 maegashira Tamawashi on the second day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka.
Tamawashi, who had lost 12 of 15 previous meetings with Tochinoshin (1-1), took advantage when he had the sekiwake straightened up during a pushing attack. By suddenly reversing vertical direction, a quick snap down on Tochinoshin's head sent him sprawling forward to the dirt.
It was a defeat that was virtually repeated by ozeki Takayasu at the hands of komusubi Ichinojo (2-0) for his second straight loss to start the tournament.
Takayasu, trying to press forward, got his face up in Ichinojo's massive chest, but the Mongolian komusubi needed only to club downward with a powerful forearm to quickly end the bout.
Meanwhile, yokozuna Kakuryu defeated aggressive No. 1 maegashira Endo for his second straight win, while ozeki Goeido bounced back from his loss on the previous day by bulldozing out No. 2 maegashira Arawashi.
Kakuryu, the lone yokozuna in the tournament following the withdrawals of Hakuho and Kisenosato prior to the start, was backed to the edge by Endo, but managed to extricate himself, then slapped down the maegashira when he got overextended.
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