Onosato dominates in early days of Kyushu tournament

There is simply no better word to describe the performance of Onosato over the first three days of the November Grand Sumo Tournament than imperious.

Sumo’s newest yokozuna may only have ascended to that exalted rank following the May meet but he is already towering over the competition in a figurative as well as literal sense.

Ex-ōzeki Takayasu, rising talent Hakuoho and former Emperor’s Cup winner Wakatakakage were successively brushed aside with ease by Onosato from Sunday through Tuesday.

At 192 centimeters tall and weighing in at 191 kilograms, the 25-year-old possesses an almost perfect sumo physique and can simply overpower opponents after absorbing their best attacks.

The former collegiate and amateur sumo superstar is also far more skilled than most realize, but at this stage of his career he is able to win just by sticking to the basics.

It’s been evident for quite a while that Onosato’s main weakness is an occasional lapse back into pulling habits when his initial attack stalls.

That’s a flaw which has almost completely been eliminated over the past six months, however, and, despite the action barely having gotten underway in Fukuoka, it’d be a major surprise if a fourth title in five tournaments isn’t heading his way.

But while Onosato is the red hot favorite for glory, he’s far from the only rikishi that has been impressive during the opening stanza of the November meet.

Aonishiki, who is on a record-setting pace towards sumo’s summit, continues to shine.

Though the young Ukrainian goes into many of his bouts giving up a significant size advantage, Aonishiki rarely gets outmuscled by bigger opponents.

Unlike Onosato, though, the 21-year-old has to use all the tools in his arsenal to get wins.

Not that it’s a problem for sumo’s fastest rising star.

Over the first three days of action in Fukuoka, Aonishiki has demonstrated that his already impressive ability to switch attacks is, if anything, even better honed than before.

A simple well-timed tug on the back of Kirishima’s upper arm on opening day was enough to put the former ōzeki into an unrecoverable position.

On Tuesday, a lightning-fast pivot and twist on the neck of Hakuoho from a defensive position was enough to ensure Aonishiki remained one of four men unbeaten after three days of action.

The knock thus far on Aonishiki is that he hasn’t hit the 12- or 13-win level that will likely be required to claim championships, but with this being his first top-division outing to make it to day 4 unblemished, that could be about to change.

The remaining two men with zero losses through three days are undersized, feisty and at the other end of the division.

Both are also hoping to bounce back from losing records in September.

One year after his top division debut, Asakoryu’s strong start would appear to set him up for a better result than the back-to-back 6-9 outings he posted in the two most recent meets.

Of course, his only other 3-0 start in makuuchi in March also ended up as a 6-9 record, so there is a long way to go before the Nippon Sport Science University grad can breathe easily.

Asakoryu’s sumo has looked sharp over the opening series of bouts and he is moving well, so the outlook is bright for at least five wins over the next 12 days.

On the topic of bright outlooks, Fujinokawa, who also posted a 6-9 record in September, has bounced back and been explosive from the get-go.

The 20-year-old may be one of the smallest men in sumo’s elite division but he certainly has one of the biggest hearts.

With his trademark high-octane relentless attack — putting much bigger opponents on the backfoot at the initial charge — working well, Fujinokawa has his first 3-0 start since last January when he was in the second tier.

Fujinokawa’s worst bout at the current meet may actually have been his most impressive.

After a mistimed sidestep at the tachi-ai gave Gonoyama the initiative, Fujinokawa was immediately in trouble and heading backwards towards the straw bales.

Incredibly, however, he managed to swing his left arm up and over the onrushing Gonoyama while pivoting to the right, sending his opponent crashing to the clay.

The instinctive execution of a move with such a high level of difficulty and probability of failure was nothing short of spectacular.

In the long term, Fujinokawa’s success will depend on how well his smaller body stands up to the pounding that comes at higher ranks, but there is no doubt that he possesses both an incredible sumo IQ and fighting spirit.

It’s far too early to predict a dark-horse title run for Fujinokawa but through the meet’s first three days he’s been one of its standouts.

It’s not just the aforementioned unbeaten quartet which has looked good in Kyushu.

Newly renamed Yoshinofuji may have dropped a bout to Tawamashi, but on days 1 and 3 the wrestler formerly known as Kusano showed enough flashes to indicate that his 11-4 from July could be closer to his real ability level than the 8-7 in September — even accounting for the higher level of competition in the latter meet.

Other men such as Oho have also looked very good at points thus far, and of course one loss for Hoshoryu doesn’t mean anything at this stage, with the yokozuna more than capable of going unbeaten the rest of the way.

Three days in and the 2025 Kyushu tournament is already shaping up to be a thrilling and hard fought affair.

Onosato seems nigh-on unstoppable, but if he slips up there are several men right on his heels ready to claim glory.