Nine Wrestlers Shared the Lead After Five Days of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo
Yokozuna Onosato forced out the winless Yoshinofuji to stay in a crowded leading group, while three men in the top division are still without a victory.
Five days into the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, no wrestler in the top makuuchi division had come through unbeaten, leaving nine men sharing the lead on four wins and one defeat.
Yokozuna Onosato is among them after beating the winless Yoshinofuji by yorikiri, a force out, in a performance the sumo writer Tim Edwards described as a return to the Onosato everyone remembers.
Kirishima, Kotozakura, Churanoumi, Atamifuji, Roga, Asanoyama, Ura and Toshinofuji complete the leading group. Kotozakura's first loss of the tournament came against Churanoumi, while Kirishima took his career record against Takanosho to 11 wins and 17 defeats.
Atamifuji, described in tournament coverage as an ozeki hopeful, beat Daieisho to stay in touch. At the other end of the division Yoshinofuji, Shodai and Ichiyamamoto were all still without a win at 0-5.
The meeting is the fifth of the six grand tournaments staged each year and runs over 15 days to 27 September at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, a short walk from Ryogoku station in Sumida City. Wrestlers need eight wins from 15 bouts for a winning record, which protects their ranking for the next tournament.