Tied for the youngest person in Makushita at 17 years old, Yoshii has hit more rocks on his path then Otsuji so far. Once the youngling got to Makushita, he would begin a streak of 4-3’s that lasted 3 basho. After that though, his last two basho’s have been struggles, going 2-5 for both and his wins only coming from 1-6 and 2-5 Rikishi. It looks like he has been “found out” by better Rikishi, and now at Ms60w, he is in do or die territory in terms of keeping his Makushita spot. Will he be able to do it, or will the 17 year old fall down divisions for the first time in his career?
Match 1: Suzuki (Sd1e 0-0)
Suzuki is the highest ranked wrestler in Sandanme and is coming up due to an odd number of active Makushita wrestlers. The 21 year old is a former Top 1/3 ranked Makushita wrestler, but like Yoshii, Suzuki has hit a bit of a road block and has fallen all the way down to Sandanme. We might be seeing a parallel with Yoshii depending on his basho, but for now let’s just watch the match
Match Details: Both went head to head right away. Suzuki went for a throat thrust but Yoshii is able to move it out of the way. Yoshii goes for the Mawashi, Suzuki responds by going for Yoshii’s through the inner arm. Yoshii is able to get a hold of the Mawashi with his right hand, and in the end, he is able to use that Mawashi pull to get his other elbow in the right position to unbalance Suzuki and push him out the dohyo.
Somewhat of a boring bout, but it shows at least that Yoshii can dominate some dudes if given the opportunity. Suzuki did look kind of injured (His shoulder is bandaged up a lot) and that might’ve played into the lack of real fight, but a win is a win in Sumo and Yoshii starts off strong.
Match 2: Nabatame (Ms60e, 1-0)
The man sharing the Ms60 title, Nabatame is himself a prospect with only 14 career losses. This is also his debut basho at Makushita and is looking for a good start. Bouts in the same rank (60 v 60) are always fun as they prove who is the best in the Basho at that rank.
Match Details: Big headbutt to start the Tachiai. Naba got the advantage and was able to get the back of Yoshii. He goes for a push but Yoshii is able to turn around before he could be pushed all the way out. They both collide again, Naba gets the advantage though Yoshii goes for the Mawashi. Nabatame is able to get a few throat thrusts in but Yoshii is able to push him off him. Nabatame gets a couple more thrusts in the chest which were enough to push Yoshii out of the dohyo.
First loss for Yoshii in this tournament. Seemed the headbutt rocked Yoshii badly and he couldn’t get his groove going in the matchup. That doesn’t take away from Nabatame though who showed great strength in his thrusts.
Match 3: Osuzuki (Sd2w, 1-1)
Osuzuki is a top ranked Sandanme prospect who, like Suzuki, is coming up from Sandanme to fight in Makushita. He is a fast rising prospect only debuting in Pro sumo less then a year ago. Like Yoshii, his record is 1-1. This bout will be important for both in terms of who can grow momentum.
Match Details: First thing I notice is both men are the same size in terms of weight. Match starts with a near headbutt by both men, though I think it was to the shoulder instead of the head. Both men start grappling, with Yoshii getting a hold of the Mawashi. He gets his other hand on while Osuzuki only can get one hand on Yoshii’s. Osuzuki tries to get a hold of Yoshii’s back but Yoshii reverses the attempt and ties Osuzuki’s arm up. Yoshii then fully changes his strategy, tying up both arms of Osuzuki. Osuzuki fights off the attempt at a lift/push out by Yoshii and forces him to go back down to the Mawashi. Osuzuki goes for a headlock of sorts but it isn’t strong enough as Yoshii just pulls his head out and moves out of the way, causing Osuzuki to fall down.
A technical match. Inexperience of both men was there I feel. But Yoshii did good in the situation and was able to reverse all of Osuzuki’s attempted offense.
Match 4: Okinofuji (Sd3w, 2-1)
The first veteran for Yoshii, Okinofuji is 33 years old with 15 years of sumo experience who has been roaming around Makushita and Sandanme his whole career. If he does good this basho he is expected to move back up into Makushita where he has spent most of his career. Yoshii will need to prove he can hang with those that are experienced with this one.
Match Details: Okinofuji has the 20lb advantage here. Yoshii starts by going head first into the stomach of Okinofuji, while Fuji goes arm first into the head. Using the arm, Okinofuji is able to push Yoshii off from getting his Mawashi, and as soon as that is complete he moves out of the way which allows Yoshii to fall to the ground. Quick match
Disappointing performance by Yoshii. Okinofuji played the matchup perfectly and showed his experience over Yoshii. Yoshii is now 2-1 against Sandanme members, and 2-2 overall in this tournament.
Match 5: Tankayama (Sd4e, 2-2)
One of the best names in sumo, Tankayama is a 19 year old Rikishi looking to get a groove going in the sumo world. Floating around lower Makushita and Sandanme. This is his first Makushita trade bout and he is looking to make an impression
Match Details: Tankayama is small for sumo standards. Both clash with Yoshii immediately grabbing the Mawashi. Tankayama starts to push Yoshii but Yoshii is able to dig in. Tankayama grabs for the arm and starts pulling Yoshii down. Yoshii is able to get his arm back and they fight for position. Yoshii gets a hold of the neck of Tankayama. Tank is able to go under the neck hold but Yoshii is able to get the back! He moves up to the neck again and presses down again, this time Tank touches the ground hand first. Yoshii gets his third win.
Now with a basho record of 3-2, Yoshii is looking for one more win to keep his Makushita spot. Tank did alright, but it was clear Yoshii was just a better wrestler even without the experience over Tank.
Match 6: Genki (Ms59e, 3-2)
Genki is somewhat in the similar position as Yoshii in terms of record. A losing record this basho will send him to Sandanme, a place he doesn’t want to go. The 27 year old is a Makushita veteran spending almost all his career in the division. He probably should be in the upper third of the division but injuries have pushed him down the division. This will be a bit of a challenge for Yoshii, as he has shown he’s not been the best against veterans this tournament.
Match Details: For the first time in a minute Yoshii wasn’t the aggressor at the Tachiai, Genki came forward with the slam into Yoshii. Yoshii right away got a hold of the Mawashi, but Genki was thrusting the neck. Yoshii’s grip looked weak, and as he went for a pushout, Genki moved out of the way to get the angle. Genki then started a slap fest onto the chest of Yoshii which lasted for a second. Genki then went down as Yoshii gets an arm-headlock in. Yoshii then starts what looks like a guillotine move before moving to the Mawashi. Genki meanwhile starts going after the right leg, and after a couple of attempts is able to put Yoshii off balance and onto the floor. Good match.
The most exciting Yoshii match so far, he did pretty good against Genki. Of course it seems the experience got the better of Yoshii, not able to get out of the pretty risky situation. He is now 3-3, and needs a win next match to stay at Makushita.
Match 7: Fukushima (Ms57e, 3-3)
Fukushima is also in a do or die situation. The former Juryo veteran has been hit by injuries that have derailed his career. He fought his way from Jonidan back to Makushita, where he is now in danger to fall back down to Sandanme. To stay at Makushita, Yoshii will have to beat the enemy he hasn’t been able to conquer this basho, experience.
Match Details: Fukushima’s right leg is the most bandaged limb I’ve seen in a minute. Match starts with both men headbutting each other and Fukushima going for the Mawashi. Yoshii tries to fight back but his arms are on the outside of Fukushima’s. After some struggle, he is able to get hold of the Mawashi, and starts to pull it. Fukushima notices the danger, and starts to push forward. He then tries to push Yoshii to the ground but the 17 year old holds his ground. He then begins to push Yoshii back, but Yoshii turns the momentum around! The arms are now all of the place, with Fukushima and Yoshii doing body grappling instead of aiming for the Mawashi. Yoshii uses the momentum to get his arms in the best spot to start pushing. Fukushima tries to get a hold of the Mawashi, but Yoshii’s arm is able to stop the attempt. Yoshii goes for a final push, but Fukushima attempts to push Yoshii back in a last ditch effort! In the end Yoshii’s push wins out, and for his troubles Fukushima is pushed to the floor since Yoshii couldn’t stop his own momentum. Yoshii gets a Kachi-koshi and will remain at Makushita
Yoshii finally gets a win over a veteran! But there is a lot too look at. First Yoshii only getting a Kachi-Koshi will only elevate his rank an average 10 or so numbers up. Secondly, all of Yoshii’s wins came against those with losing records, while losses are all against fellow winning records. This happens a bit in sumo so I’m not super worried but it does tell me he isn’t going to be a major player for a bit, which is fair for a 17 year old. Thirdly, his record against Sandanme wrestlers was 3-1, while against Makuuchi it was 1-2. This is a bit more worrying, and make me think he still might not be ready for middle of Makushita but I’m going hard on the kid. At 17 and already at this level, he should have a decent sumo career, plus being in a decent heya like Tokitsukaze, he will have people training him up nicely.
Next Rikishi profile will be on a certain nephew in the Makuuchi division…after him you guys can decide. I have some suggestions from Reddit so I will put the top ones from there into the poll. Vote if you get the chance!
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