Day 7: Wakanofuji Reads Kakizoe's Leaping Surprise Attack and Pushes Him Out to Clinch Kachi-Koshi
West Sandanme 29 Wakanofuji, 25 (Kasugano), the Mongolian-born former collegiate yokozuna, pushed out East Sandanme 26 Kakizoe, 19 (Ikazuchi), in a battle of 3-0 men to clinch kachi-koshi. Kakizoe put both hands down first and waited, then at the tachi-ai leapt to his left, grabbed Wakanofuji's right shoulder and tried a ketaguri with his right foot; Wakanofuji shut him down with a right nodowa and pushed him out (ABEMA TIMES). 'I thought he'd try something in one shot to beat me,' Wakanofuji said (Nikkan Sports). Kakizoe's father is stablemaster Ikazuchi (ex-komusubi Kakizoe), and his mother, okamisan Emi, a Nihon University sumo alumna, was a three-time All-Japan women's champion; he won the jonokuchi title in July. ABEMA fans wrote, 'He's going to get scolded' and 'Hoist with his own petard.'
Wakanofuji debuted at the bottom of makushita in January, but broke his right collarbone in May against Arashifuji, now in makuuchi, and sat out Nagoya and Aki after surgery. 'It's my first kachi-koshi in half a year... My feel is slowly coming back,' he said. 'Arashifuji is doing well. I think that if I hadn't been hurt, I might be up there too' (Nikkan Sports, Sports Hochi).
Sources: Yahoo! Japan Sports (Nikkan Sports) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (Sports Hochi) · Yahoo! Japan Sports (ABEMA TIMES)