Report card: 2024 Natsu Basho Part 4 - Shodai, Tamawashi, Takanosho, Kotoshoho, Mitakeumi and Nishikigi.
The following post was first published on Sumo Stomp! on June 22 2024.
The Nagoya basho is fast approaching (the banzuke will be out in less than two weeks!). But there is still time for an audit of what we saw go down on the dohyo in May. The 2024 natsu basho was a very memorable tournament filled with some great, and surprising, performances.
In this fourth instalment of my report card series I’ll be focusing on a mixed bag of wrestlers. Some did quite well in May, while others were pretty disappointing. This group is comprised of Shodai, Tamawashi, Kotoshoho, Mitakeumi and Nishikigi. Let’s get to it.
Shodai
Rank: Maegashira 9 West
Record: 7-8
Grade: D
This result in May made it seven make-koshi in the last ten tournaments for the former ozeki. This was another tournament where Shodai looked slow, unimaginative and tepid. In much of his bouts he seemed to have a lack of fight and appeared to stop trying well before the bout was truly decided.
See below how easily Takanosho was able to move Shodai to the straw.
In this bout Takanosho didn’t do anything special. He’s a strong wrestler, but Shodai offers such little resistance, and movement, that Takanosho barely had to break a sweat here.
Below you can see Sadanoumi take the fight to Shodai and get him out quickly. The defeat on Shodai’s face (in both these examples) reads as someone who doesn’t believe he can win these bouts.
Other than his record in March (where he went 8-7 as M10), this M9 ranking is Shodai’s lowest ranking since 2019. Taking so many losses from this position in the banzuke certainly points to Shodai being well past his peak, despite being only 32-years-old.
Physically and technically, I think he has the tools he needs to improve his ranking. Though, I doubt he can get back to the san’yaku. However, if his demeanour, which seems so defeated, doesn’t change anytime soon I have a sinking feeling we might see him in juryo sometime this year.
Tamawashi
Rank: Maegashira 9 East
Record: 7-8
Grade: D+
Tamawashi struggled in May. However, unlike Shodai, he looked down for a scrap in every bout and fought until the very end each time.
After a dreadful stretch where he lost six bouts in a row, the oldest man in the division was able to regroup and reel off five straight wins to give himself a Darwin Match on Day 15.
He met Ichiyamamoto for that contest, check out what happened below:
Tamawashi was able to defend from Ichiyamamoto’s opening rush well, brushing his thrusting hands to the side to provide an opening for his responding push. On the push back, Tamawashi was able to exploit his strength advantage over Ichiyamamoto. However, as he so often does, on route to trying to complete the finish, Tamawashi over committed on his final push. In the above instance, he failed to recognize Ichiyamamoto’s side-step and that resulted in him going face first into the clay.
Something similar happened against Shonannoumi (below). Tamawashi again defended well off the tachiai and was able to reverse the momentum in the bout. However, this time his opponent pulled off an escape a lot quicker, and fooled Tamawashi into another head first plunge.
Torpedoing himself into an opponent to try and complete a push out does work some of the time. See against Oho below. This worked mostly because Oho is one of the slower rikishi in the division. He tried to side-step Tamawashi, but it was far too late.
So a losing record for Tamawashi, but he gets a little credit on his grade for the effort and energy he put into his sumo despite being about to turn 40.
Kotoshoho
Rank: Maegashira 8 West
Record: 8-7
Grade: C
Kotoshoho now has earned kachi-koshi in three straight makuuchi tournaments since his return from juryo (where he spent one tournament and won the yusho). This is the second time he’s done this in his career. The first time was when he was first promoted to the makuuchi back in 2020.
I have enjoyed watching Kotoshoho since his return to the top division. Prior to his demotion he looked really wild and anxious, but this time around he seems far more deliberate and composed. This version of Kotoshoho is as active as the previous one, but he doesn’t run himself into trouble nearly as much. Instead he’s able to brawl and then pull out an intelligent move to end the match. Before, he would brawl with no end in sight and often end up flopping onto the ground.
But see how he fought Ura, below:
Kotoshoho looked well prepared for Ura. He knew Ura would come in low (as he always does), so he decided to step backwards and brace himself for the impact. After he nullified Ura’s opening charge, he started striking. Ura closed distance really well after that. But Kotoshoho’s response was excellent. With Ura pushing him backwards, Kotoshoho had the composure to circle away from the boundary while securing an arm lock on Ura’s left arm. His movement, with that lock, allowed him to toss Ura on the ground (and he threw in a little foot sweep for good measure, too).
This move wasn’t a fluke. Kotoshoho did something very similar to Sadanoumi. See that below.
Kotoshoho used his thrusts (which are pretty hefty) to unsettle Sadanoumi and create space for him grab onto his belt. However, his hand slipped off his belt, but he was able to snatch up an arm lock there and execute the throw down. Just like he did with Ura, in this bout, Kotoshoho circled away from the straw when he was getting pushed back, which gives him a great angle for his throw. With Sadanoumi, Kotoshoho also used his legs to help complete the finisher. This time he had his knee stuck on the outside of Sadanoumi and was able to pressure Sadanoumi’s outer thigh to help teeter Sadanoumi over.
At only 24 Kotoshoho could still improve and, though I think san’yaku might be out of reach, he could be a joi mainstay in the future.
Takanosho
Rank: Maegashira 8 East
Record: 8-7
Grade: C
Takanosho is a bull…
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