[sumo] Fwd: [Sumo news] - Makushita Asahifuji

[Jeff A]

Moti


Best regards,
Gai

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these:
It might have been.
- John Greenleaf Whittier

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Moti Dichne <niramiai at gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jul 20, 2026 at 3:27 AM
Subject: [Sumo news] - Makushita Asahifuji
To: Sumo Newsletter2 <sumo-newsletter2 at googlegroups.com>


Ex-Juryo Nabatame achieved a remarkable victory defeating Asahifuji, who
had been undefeated since his debut in Jonokuchi, with a tsukidashi. This
ended Asahifuji's winning streak at 25, the third longest in history. From
the start of the bout, Nabatame attacked with two-handed thrusts, not
allowing his opponent to get a grip on his mawashi at all. Nabatame,
breathless, said, "I felt the energy in the arena rise, and that's how I
ended up wrestling like that. I owe it all to the support." The match
between two rikishi with four consecutive wins was a showdown where the
former Juryo wrestler showed his determination. After securing a kachikoshi
on day 7, Nabatame was already looking ahead to his match against
Asahifuji, saying, "I want to steal the spotlight." His Oyakata Futagoyama
is currently absent due to poor health. Nabatame said, "For the first time
this tournament, my Oyakata told me, 'It's okay to lose, just go for it.'
I'd be happy if he gets better," and he lived up to expectations with his
results. The efforts of his teammates also motivated him. Mita,  also a
former Juryo rikishi who had dropped in rank due to a knee injury and is
now ranked East Makushita 41, also achieved his fifth win and expressed his
support for Nabatame's match, saying, "I believe he can do it." Nabatame
said, "I'm happy that Mita has made a smooth recovery and is able to
wrestle in the dohyo again. Our Oyakata is not in good health, so when our
father is not feeling well, the kids step up. Everyone is getting good
results, and that's pulling me along too." If both Nabatame and Mita
continue their winning streaks, they could face each other in the
championship playoff. "We're together in the heya, but we haven't talked
about that. We want to encourage each other and do our best to wrestle
well." Precisely because their Oyakata is absent, the disciples are more
united than ever. [Ichiro Sasaki]

-- 

---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Sumo Newsletter2" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
email to sumo-newsletter2+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sumo-newsletter2/c076cbe5-9316-4caa-ade1-9ea6c714a547n%40googlegroups.com
<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sumo-newsletter2/c076cbe5-9316-4caa-ade1-9ea6c714a547n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://server.webtrek.com/pipermail/sumo/attachments/20260720/7b918a42/attachment.html>