Onosato Holds Off Asanoyama in Their First Meeting to Go 2-1; Asanoyama: 'Is This a Funeral?'
In the musubi on Day 3, yokozuna Onosato (Nishonoseki), 26, from Ishikawa, beat former ozeki Asanoyama (Takasago), 32, from neighboring Toyama, by yoritaoshi in their first official meeting and has won two straight after his Day 1 loss. Asanoyama got a deep left outer grip at the tachi-ai, but Onosato got his favored right arm inside. As Asanoyama backed up throwing, Onosato leaned his weight on him, turned it around and drove him down (Sponichi, Nikkan Sports). Onosato wiped blood from his mouth afterward. 'I handled it well,' he said. 'We're from neighboring prefectures. Just as I was coming up, it became a passing-each-other situation. We finally got to face each other. I'm glad I won the first meeting.' He wants to 'focus on one bout a day' as he chases a second straight title (Sponichi, Sports Hochi).
The two sparred at Nishonoseki-beya before Onosato's makuuchi debut in January 2024 and on tour, but never met in a basho: both were komusubi in May 2024, when Onosato won his first title, but Asanoyama sat out injured, and he tore his left ACL in July 2024. Hakkaku had predicted the left front grip would be the key, and afterward said only, 'It was deep. The outer grip.' Mainoumi on NHK: 'When he got the left outer grip I thought this was Asanoyama's, but the yokozuna stayed calm throughout' (Nikkan Sports).
'Is this a funeral? What's wrong?' Asanoyama asked reporters after the bout, then sighed, 'Haa, I lost.' 'He followed me as I pressed, and I went for the throw. It was passive sumo. I'm frustrated, since I finally had my own shape,' he said, adding that the sagari got in the way of his left grip. He is 1-2 and missed a chance at his first kinboshi since beating Kakuryu in September 2019. To Sports Hochi he said, 'He's the opponent I always wanted to fight. I lost, but the sense of fulfillment is bigger,' and recalled that his serious injury at 30 made him think of retirement before support from his stablemaster and his mother kept him going. He meets ozeki Kotozakura on Day 4. 'At this rank you face everyone. I'm 32, so rather than calling it good experience, I want to use it next time.'
Sources: Yahoo! Japan Sports (Sponichi) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Sponichi) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Sports Hochi) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Sports Hochi / Asanoyama) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Nikkan Sports / Asanoyama) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Nikkan Sports / Hakkaku) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Nikkan Sports / Mainoumi) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Jiji Press photo)