Monday, July 23, 2018

July Sumo Wrestling Tournament Winner - Congrats to Sekiwake Mitakeumi!

Sekiwake Mitakeumi had a heck of a tournament, in part due to the absence of all the Yokozuna and one of the strong Ozeki.  Mitakeumi has been in the Nihon Sumo Kyokai for a little more than 3 years coming right out of college into one of the Makushita slots reserved for college rikishi that do well.  He is one of the Japanese hopefuls that will hopefully see a push to Ozeki next tournament.  He is going to need another 13 or so wins next tournament for consideration for promotion to Ozeki.  Here are a few Mitakeumi cards from the two 2018 BBM sets.


Maegasshira Yutakayama got the runner-up award with a fine record of 12 wins.  Here is another Japanese hopeful that given some more time to season in the mid ranks, should be a strong contender for some of the top ranks.   I was lucky enough to pick up this auto card in a box break I did a few months ago.


5 comments:

  1. It is interesting to see how injury-related absences throw off results in combat sports. The same holds true in team sports, I guess, but maybe to a lesser degree. The games still go on as scheduled, but in the fighting/wrestling world, the match gets called off or rescheduled, and new contenders get a chance to rise up.

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    1. For the most part, people really enjoyed this tournament. Not-the-usual-suspect wrestler gets a chance at the championship. It'll be interesting to see how the injured wrestlers recover and compete next time. We are likely going to see a changing of the guard here soon.

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  2. If Sekiwake Mitakeumi ends up moving up to Ozeki... how fast could he reach Yokozuna status? Does it typically take years? Decades? Or have people moved up quicker than that?

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    1. He could make it in a few tournaments if he has two wins as an Ozeki. Or if he gets a win and a really strong runner-up finish. Some Ozeki languish for years before they promote. Others are born to be Yokozuna. Asashoryu was an Ozeki for only 3 tournaments. Kisenosato was an Ozeki for around 30 tournaments. Great question.

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    2. I should say two back-to-back wins as an Ozeki.

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