Hoshoryu Returns From Three Absences With a Day 1 Win Over Churanoumi
Yokozuna Hoshoryu, 27 (Tatsunami), beat new komusubi Churanoumi, 33 (Kise), by oshidashi on Kyushu Day 1, his first honbasho win in 109 days — since Day 11 of the July basho — after three straight kyujo and right-knee ligament repair surgery on July 29. He allowed Churanoumi a left front mawashi grip but shook it off, withstood a right throat push, then sidestepped with his left and pushed him out. He looked to the ceiling when the bout ended, then again after leaving the dohyo. 'I was a little relieved. I sat out last basho, so I was more nervous than usual,' he told Nikkan Sports and Sankei Sports, adding it was not good sumo but he was glad to win. A companion Nikkan report says he is now 7-0 against Okinawa's first sanyaku rikishi.
ABEMA TIMES says he wore a very stern expression entering the hall, but cameras caught a brief, roughly one-second look of relief after the win. On ABEMA, former yokozuna Wakanohana (Hanada Masaru) said Hoshoryu looked calm for someone returning after so long, but 'I think he's incredibly nervous' under yokozuna pressure he has never felt before.
Sports Hochi reports he rejoined the autumn tour partway, did extensive degeiko after arriving in Fukuoka, and told Tatsunami oyakata 'I want to compete' four days before Day 1. Tokyo Sports and Sankei Sports quote Tatsunami saying the attending doctor had been cautious; Tatsunami said Hoshoryu is 'not perfect' but checked several times and there was no hesitation. Some people had told him to wait one more basho; Tatsunami said a poor return could raise the question of his future, that 'waiting doesn't guarantee he'll get better,' and that 'you can't quit midway; if he's entering, at minimum he should be in the title race.' JSA chairman Hakkaku said he is not yet used to the dohyo but will improve.
Before the basho, Hoshoryu attended the yokozuna-kai in Fukuoka. Shibatayama (ex-Onokuni) told him not to worry about talk of winning the title, and that aiming for 10 wins and climbing step by step would do. Hoshoryu said the words eased his mind and 'saved' him. He added that he wants to show fans he is healthy and focus on one bout at a time.
In his Sports Hochi column, former ozeki Kotokaze says Hoshoryu's movement was stiff after his absence; his lower body wobbled when he shook off the left front mawashi grip and when he was sidestepped. The key to the win, he writes, was tight armpits and a head-first charge, not an easy harite, since a slap into a front-mawashi grip would have been fatal. Winning the first day back matters most, he says. Hoshoryu meets Asanoyama on Day 2.
Sources: Yahoo! Japan Sports · Yahoo! Japan Sports (ABEMA TIMES) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Tokyo Sports) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Sports Hochi) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Sankei Sports) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Sports Hochi / Kotokaze)