Asashoryu reigns supreme!
Written by: Beck
It was a close one. After the final round, there was no clear victor yet, and the scrappy maegashira Hokutoriki had a chance at taking the tournament from the veteran yokozuna. In the end, he fell to the sheer experience, skill, and strength of Asashoryu, who took his third tournament in a row.
In the deciding bout, Asashoryu secured an iron grip on his opponent's mawashi even before Hokutoriki was at full stretch from his tachiai crouch. The yokozuna stole a lightening-fast slap to the maegashira's face, before powering into him relentlessly -- shaking him like a rag doll and undoing Hokutoriki's already rattled foundations.
A final surge of force saw Hokutoriki step back out over the bales. Unable to satisfy his appetite for destruction, Asashoryu picked up the defeated maegashira and lifted him even further away from the straw, in a symbolic gesture of victory absolute.
So am I simply fascinated by sumo, or am I at an absolute loss for something original to blog about? I'll let you decide. Money quote:
The massive Kaio hammered the nail into Musoyama's kadoban coffin by staying cool in the face of a powerful onslaught. Kaio appeared to lose the tachiai and was promptly ushered back to the edge, but then simply sidestepped desperate Musoyama to send him out in disgrace.
Gotta love the Japanese.
