SUMO - 2021 Natsu Basho (May 9th - May 23rd)

[Stormtrooper85]

Between Hibikiryu's death and the bullshit with Hakuho I think I'll sit this one out :\

Can't blame you or anyone really for feeling like this. I felt myself less hyped for this basho but I also really want to see how Teru does.

 

[Fork]

Good first day. Not too many surprises. The Ozeki looking good early which hopefully is a good sign

yeah, I think "on paper" this opening day was a really tough one for the ozeki against really talented opponents. except for Asanoyama they all looked pretty solid and basically did their style of sumo very well. Terunofuji had his power double armlock, Shodai looked really solid defensively, and Takakeisho did good pushing-thrusting to blow out Wakatakakage. Asanoyama obviously looked shakier, but ultimately a win is a win and starting off on the right foot is important.

Hoshoryu looked really good against Myogiryu, Ichinojo also looked pretty good against Tochinoshin and didn't waste time in his match which is a good sign. don't think he'll keep it up, but good to see anyway.

nice kotenage from Kotoeko as well.

 

[Stormtrooper85]

These Ozeki, man. So inconsistent.

Terunofuji the only one to show promise

 

[BoxingMMA]

yeah, the combination of genuinely beautiful and valuable tradition and sport can also make for really complicated situations and feelings. something like making the dohyo a flat surface just on the ground would pretty much objectively make the sport safer and reduce injuries for athletes, but i can't really see myself supporting that idea.

and yeah i think the sport being an expression of machismo and toughness is also valuable. hopefully, that can be maintained while having better ways of dealing with injuries, or without the hazing and abuse that was (and probably still is to an extent) common in stables. a sport like rugby is still able to maintain that image while introducing pretty robust head injury protocols.

frankly, it would be good to have someone nearby who could treat gyoji, judges, or even spectators as well.

Do we know more about what happened? I know he died of respiratory problems but were they 100% related to the inury or sort of related? Or did he like, I dunno, get covid or something?

 

[Fork]

Do we know more about what happened? I know he died of respiratory problems but were they 100% related to the inury or sort of related? Or did he like, I dunno, get covid or something?

yeah, I think ultimately not much is in the public, but i was also wondering if it was COVID related. i don't know if spinal injuries can affect lungs or breathing in some way, but i wouldn't be too surprised if they could....

 

[Fork]

These Ozeki, man. So inconsistent.

Terunofuji the only one to show promise

yeah, rough day for them. Asanoyama kicked it off with a pretty disappointing performance. Shodai and Takakeisho should be winning those fights but i think those losses were also due in large part to good performances by their opponents, especially Wakatakakage.

seemed like Enho picked up a really painful injury against Ura too.

also thoroughly enjoying the new camera angle they've set up in the empty seats.

 

[BoxingMMA]

Hopefully teru loses soon so things get interesting but I have a feeling the rest of the ozeki will just keep losing. The real surprises can come from the rest, you never know with mitakeumi, daeisho, onosho, wakatakakage, tobizaru, hoshoryu etc. I feel any of those guys on any given day can beat anyone. I’d love to say takayasu but even with his two wins he didn’t look good at all. I have a feeling we can’t expect much from him.

 

[winterbike]

''Hey guys looks like Hakuho leaving our declining sport is going to leave a huge void none of the upcoming guys can fill. Clearly our solution is to antagonize him and make up bullshit to try to tarnish his legacy''.

 

[listrahtes]

Right now I think Wakatakakage has the best sumo. Todays bout showed that imo very good vs. Asanoyama.
Teru has the best combination of sumo and power but I do hope Waka can take the basho.

Asa & Shodai have the body & athletic ability for Yokozuna but not the mindset to work on their weakness.
At least I see no development with both during the last several basho.

I really do hope Enho takes a medical time out or even leaves the basho. Makes no sense to fight with such an injured ellbow he just risks permanent damage.

 

[Stormtrooper85]

''Hey guys looks like Hakuho leaving our declining sport is going to leave a huge void none of the upcoming guys can fill. Clearly our solution is to antagonize him and make up bullshit to try to tarnish his legacy''.

It was truly a bat shit turn to suddenly say hey, we've got one Yokozuna left and man he's probably the best ever......Fuck this guy.

 

[Fork]

Right now I think Wakatakakage has the best sumo. Todays bout showed that imo very good vs. Asanoyama.
Teru has the best combination of sumo and power but I do hope Waka can take the basho.

yeah, Wakatakakage has looked very impressive these last two days. liked the shift at the tachiai to basically negate Asanoyama's power advantage at the initial charge, and sort of set up a second mini-tachiai where Wakatakakage has the advantage. i don't know if that was his intention with the shift, but i had never really thought of that use of a henka until this match. and he showed some great resilience at the edge, and excellent strength and speed to unbalance his opponent, stick with Asanoyama, and force him out.

and yeah, i hope Enho sits out the rest of the tournament, or at least takes a few days off. incidentally, i think it would be good if sitting out a few days and planning to return later in the tournament was "normalized" and more common.

 

[JacJeanFinger]

So far this is the best basho ever.

In my opinion, about 9 upper contenders are on the same level regardless of their current rank. They give black stars (loss) to each other somewhat evenly so makunouchi rankers can take advantage of less competitive matchmaking and they could come on top or blend into the forerunning mix with 11 or more wins. For this particular basho however I can predict minimum wins for yusho will be 13 which most likely goes to terunofuji.

I constantly see many strange slippages in fights. And I am compelled to think most happen after terutsuyoshi's sumo.

 

[Fork]

So far this is the best basho ever.

In my opinion, about 9 upper contenders are on the same level regardless of their current rank. They give black stars (loss) to each other somewhat evenly so makunouchi rankers can take advantage of less competitive matchmaking and they could come on top or blend into the forerunning mix with 11 or more wins. For this particular basho however I can predict minimum wins for yusho will be 13 which most likely goes to terunofuji.

I constantly see many strange slippages in fights. And I am compelled to think most happen after terutsuyoshi's sumo.

hahaha, i think on day 2 Raja Pradhan on the English commentary mentioned asking Terutsuyoshi if he ever slips on his own salt and he said something like "yes sometimes, so i have to be careful about that" or something.

and yeah, there's real parity among the top guys right now, with Terunofuji being the only sort of exception, which leads to a real sense that anything can happen in the tournament. missing out on the technical dominance of Hakuho in his prime is a shame, but i don't miss the days when him winning the yusho was basically just a formality.

 

[Fork]

Wakatakakage is looking awesome. Takayasu is a big man, but the shove from Wakatakakage made him look like a lightweight. looking forward to seeing if he can pull something out against Terunofuji, but that's obviously a tall order. ultimately i would love to see Terunofuji win the tournament, but i'd like to see Wakatakakage get this big win.

interesting match from Ishiura as well, against Akiseyama. he opened with some tsuppari which was surprising, and got that nice left-hand harite.

and down in Juryo, the match between Yutakayama and Ura was a blast (although not the outcome i would have wanted). Enho is really struggling as well, and should step out at least for a few days.

 

[JacJeanFinger]

hahaha, i think on day 2 Raja Pradhan on the English commentary mentioned asking Terutsuyoshi if he ever slips on his own salt and he said something like "yes sometimes, so i have to be careful about that" or something.

and yeah, there's real parity among the top guys right now, with Terunofuji being the only sort of exception, which leads to a real sense that anything can happen in the tournament. missing out on the technical dominance of Hakuho in his prime is a shame, but i don't miss the days when him winning the yusho was basically just a formality.

If terunofuji's overall tale of the tape score was 10, I'd place shodai at 8 and line up the rest of sanyaku and 3-4 others at 7.

>> on day 2 Raja Pradhan on the English commentary mentioned asking Terutsuyoshi if he ever slips on his own salt and he said something like "yes sometimes, so i have to be careful about that" or something.

I don't think terutsuyoshi knew what Pradhan really meant....."Why don't you go a little easy on the salt you're grabbing?"

Pradhan might have been concerned so much with the amount of salt because Himalayan pink salt, the one and only Nepalese export ever crossing oceans, is sold at the price of a house in his home town.

 

[listrahtes]

Wakatakakage and Teru on Yokozuna road.

Teru is obvious but Waka also constantly improved over the last bashos and in march also showed tremendous improvements.
I think he really can make a run for Yokozuna and be a respectable one in the future. He has the technical ability but more important the mindset that goes with it.

I loved Terutsuyoshi slipping exactly were he tractored his 20kg of salt on day 4 <Lmaoo><Lmaoo> Talk about karma.

 

[what-wut]

Has Ishiura gained weight he looks bigger. Loved his
Win yesterday.

 

[JacJeanFinger]

Wakatakakage and Teru on Yokozuna road.

Teru is obvious but Waka also constantly improved over the last bashos and in march also showed tremendous improvements.
I think he really can make a run for Yokozuna and be a respectable one in the future. He has the technical ability but more important the mindset that goes with it.

I loved Terutsuyoshi slipping exactly were he tractored his 20kg of salt on day 4 <Lmaoo><Lmaoo> Talk about karma.

Now more people are starting to realize what explains the cause of unnatural stumbles and slides we've seen increasing over the last several basho. I was not joking.

Wakatakakage could be a pound for pound king already but weighing at less than 130 kilos, maintaining Grand Champion position could be a bit too tough. But I can see his potential in piling up a few consecutive 2-digit wins and reach ozeki possibly in the next 3-6 bashos.

 

[listrahtes]

. I was not joking.

Yeah I remember. The salt throw from him is so annoying that I always fast forward. I may be unfair but its like "LOOK EVERYONE LOOK HOW COOL I AM".

Wakatakakage could be a pound for pound king already but weighing at less than 130 kilos

I am a fanboy so no objective analysis from my side. If he can get to 135-40kg of solid mass I do see him contesting for Ozeki and maybe Yokozuna some time in the future. He is only 26 and improving every basho. His upper body reminds me of the wolf.

 

[Fork]

Has Ishiura gained weight he looks bigger. Loved his
Win yesterday.

yeah, think one of the English commentators said the same thing on day 1 or 2. he looks bigger to me too.

glad to see Enho win on day 5 but he's looking really banged up. Ura had a nice leg pick down in Juryo too.

nice strong win for Hoshoryu against Ichinojo. Takayasu looked great against Daieisho as well and gave him a taste of his own medicine. good day for the Ozeki as well, but Asanoyama still looking shaky.