Sumo: Hakuho moves within one win of Chiyonofuji`s mark

TOKYO, Sept. 16 Kyodo -
The Wolf is howling now.
Mongolian grand champion Hakuho came within one victory of etching his name in
sumo's ''Hall of Fame'' alongside former yokozuna great Chiyonofuji on Thursday
with a demolition of Georgian Tochinoshin on the fifth day of the Autumn Grand
Sumo Tournament.
Hakuho was never in any real trouble as he waited patiently for the perfect
moment to dispose of Tochinoshin in the day's final bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
After getting his right hand inside on the No. 2 maegashira's belt, the
yokozuna twisted his opponent onto his buttocks for the win, stretching his
incredible winning streak to 52 bouts.
Hakuho said later that Tochinoshin appeared as if he tried to stand up with
time left on the clock as if he were ready to get the bout under way. ''I
followed him but our 'tachiai' wasn't in sync.''
''I was surprised that both of his hands were down, so I thought he was ready
to go. His eyes looked very intense. Hakuho is very strong. I have to be much
more aggressive against him,'' Tochinoshin said.
Hakuho is just one win from equaling the mark of Chiyonofuji -- nicknamed ''The
Wolf'' due to the piercing glare he used to give opponents -- set from May to
November 1988.
For today, anyway, Hakuho was happy to match his father's 52-bout streak in
Mongolian sumo.
''I was very calm as I wrestled my opponent today. I'll do my best in
tomorrow's bout. Today is today and tomorrow is tomorrow, so we will see,''
said Hakuho, who faces Kotoshogiku on Friday. The yokozuna is 22-1 in matches
against No. 3 maegashira Kotoshogiku.
Futabayama holds the all-time leading record of 69 straight wins since the
start of the Showa era (1926-1988), which he set from the seventh day of the
1936 spring meet until the third day of the 1939 spring meet with Chiyonofuji
in second during the same era.
Three other wrestlers from more ancient times -- Tanikaze (63) from the Edo
period (1603-1868), Umegatani (58) from the Meiji era (1868-1911) and Tachiyama
(56), whose record extended from the Meiji to the Taisho period -- are among
the elite group of five.
If Hakuho can win his fourth consecutive tournament with a perfect 15-0 mark at
the Tokyo meet, he would be just seven wins shy of Futabayama's record --
something roughly equivalent to Joe DiMaggio's feat of hitting in 56
consecutive games in the major leagues.
Hakuho shares the lead at 5-0 with Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu and rank-and-filer
Yoshikaze.
Kotooshu went on the rampage against Wakanosato and came close to falling to
his first defeat after he stumbled clumsily over the edge, but his winless
opponent had already stepped out of the ring.
Ozeki Harumafuji (4-1), who announced the same day he will get married, beat
Tokitenku using a salvo of thrusts to send his winless opponent fleeing over
the ridge.
Veteran Kaio (3-2), who needs eight wins this time to retain his ozeki status,
was devoured by Mongolian komusubi Kakuryu (2-3), who got his right hand inside
before ushering his opponent out of the ring.
Estonian ozeki Baruto (4-1) was never fooled by winless Homasho, who attempted
to move to his right out of the crouch but was abruptly shown the exit in a
textbook frontal force out.
Komusubi Kisenosato (2-3) was sent backpedaling over the edge with minimal fuss
against sekiwake Tochiozan, who unleashed a textbook frontal assault to pick up
a fourth win.
Russian Aran escaped from the jaws of defeat after he was pushed to the edge by
Mongolian Kyokutenho, using his arm strength to twist his opponent over the
straw bales at the last second. Both men are at 2-3.
Crowd favorite Takamisakari (2-3) retreated against Tokusegawa (3-2)
immediately after the face-off, despite his pre-bout histrionics to rile
himself for the fight.
Yoshikaze swatted down Shimotori (2-3) to remain the only unbeaten Japanese
wrestler.
''I've been very focused in all my matches so far. I haven't washed my hair
(for good luck) since the opening day. It really itches a lot,'' said
Yoshikaze.
Earlier, Gagamaru (4-1) laid the pressure on thick in a frontal attack of
Tochinonada (3-2) before using his left hand to topple his opponent over the
edge by the ''mawashi.''
The Yokozuna Deliberation Council said the same day it will consider giving
Hakuho some type of award after the 15-day meet, if he achieves the record.
''If he achieves the record we need to think of something. I'd like him to aim
for Futabayama's record,'' said yokozuna council head Takuhiko Tsuruta.
Former yokozuna Taiho, Kitanoumi and Chiyonofuji received special awards from
the yokozuna council in the past.
==Kyodo