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The story
On day 14 of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, Yokozuna Onosato lost to Ozeki Kotozakura, picking up his second defeat of the tournament and falling to 3 losses. Meanwhile, Ozeki Anseiki held the line at 3 losses by beating fellow Ozeki Kirishima in an all-Ozeki bout, sending the championship race down to the final day, where Onosato and Anseiki will face off directly in the tournament’s closing bout. Maegashira Asanoyama also lost, dropping to 4 defeats and falling out of title contention. On the 5ch Geinou/Sports News+ board, threads mixed laments over the Yokozuna’s fragility in crunch moments with excitement over a rare tied-record showdown.
Sports Nippon
[September 26, 2026, 17:55]
Day 14 of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament was held on the 26th at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan. Yokozuna Onosato (26, Nishonoseki stable) lost to Ozeki Kotozakura (28, Sadogatake stable), falling to 3 losses. Ozeki Anseiki (22, Ajigawa stable) won his Ozeki-versus-Ozeki bout against Kirishima (30, Otowayama stable) to hold at 3 losses, sending the championship cup down to the final day. Maegashira Asanoyama (32, Takasago stable) lost to Sekiwake Fujinokawa (21, Isenoumi stable), dropping to 4 losses.
Source: sponichi.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Get lost, sumo-thread-spam troll!
This is exactly the issue.
At this point I'd recommend zazen meditation over sumo practice.
If not for the injuries, he's the strongest guy out there right now.
Better to make him Yokozuna and let the injury heal fully.
Once he's a Yokozuna he can take all the rest he needs.
whoever wins takes the top-division title at 12-3.
Couldn't be simpler.
First time ever — according to Google's AI, anyway.
Sounds like Harumafuji did it before.
Onosato doesn't really look fully recovered either, honestly.
a playoff match is great and all, but this kind of finish is the most thrilling.
Apparently the first one since Kotozakura vs. Hoshoryu, two years ago.
Onosato, again?
Get it together lol
Hopeless…
Kotozakura's beaten Onosato plenty of times before, so it's not exactly a shock.
A Yokozuna shouldn't be losing like that.
Tons of guys have, come on.
Exactly. He got his first win over a Yokozuna just last tournament. They haven't faced off much, so it's hard to say if he's really bad at it.
My gut says Onosato keeps losing tomorrow too.
Didn't catch it, but couldn't Onosato jump clear at the edge?
He did hop at the end.
More like he stumbled forward.
Fragile as ever.
"Guess I gave you all something to remember, huh~."
Sadogatake stablemaster (the father, also formerly Kotonowaka):
"If you're gonna make a moment out of a weird spot like that,
you'd better be doing things properly all the time."
Seriously, this — does he get stronger once he's dropped enough matches to maegashira that the title-race pressure is off?
Since his top-division debut people kept saying 'can't he ever notch 12 instead of just 11,' but yeah, lately he has.
Background and key points of this story
Grand sumo runs on a 15-day round-robin format, and if multiple wrestlers are tied for the most wins on the final day, a playoff bout decides the championship. This tournament, Yokozuna Onosato and Ozeki Anseiki are tied at 3 losses apiece, making the final day’s closing bout a de facto championship decider. One thread post asked whether a wrestler winning the title with 3 losses would be unprecedented, but replies pointed out that Harumafuji had a similar case in the past — a reminder that posts simply quoting an AI’s answer shouldn’t be taken at face value. Anseiki, a 22-year-old Ozeki, has drawn praise for consistently racking up 11-12 wins per tournament since his top-division debut, aside from his losing records. Onosato, meanwhile, has repeatedly stumbled down the stretch since his Yokozuna promotion, and many thread posters pointed to his fragility in crunch moments. This tied-record finale is said to be the first since Kotozakura vs. Hoshoryu two years ago, with posters voicing excitement over the rare head-to-head showdown.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Sumo Day 14] Onosato Suffers Painful 3rd Loss With Second Straight Defeat; Anseiki Holds at 3, Championship Cup Down to Final Day; Asanoyama Drops to 4 Losses.”
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