NAGOYA, Jul. 25, 2010 (Kyodo News International) --
(Editors: TO BE LED)
Just call him superman.
A day after capturing his 15th career title, Mongolian grand champion Hakuho capped off a stellar performance with a superhuman feat against ozeki Baruto on Sunday, making him the only man in the history of sumo to win three consecutive meets with perfect 15-0 records.
With a victory over the Estonian man-mountain in a mouthwatering final match of the 15-day Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, Hakuho stretched his personal winning streak to 47 bouts.
In the finale, Hakuho held off a rampage from Baruto (8-7), who shook the yokozuna to and fro with his massive frame, in front of a riveted auditorium at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
But never one to shrink from a challenge, Hakuho reached deep into his energy reserves before finding a way to dump the ozeki with one mighty left-handed overarm throw, causing fans to erupt with cheers and flying ''zabuton'' cushions around the auditorium.
No one was even close to Hakuho, who set the bar so high that his nearest challengers finished four losses off the pace.
He also achieved a record that eluded Chiyonofuji by one win, despite the former yokozuna great's legendary 53-bout win streak. Hakuho is the only wrestler to have won three consecutive meets without a loss since the introduction of the six-tourney system in 1958.
''The Wolf,'' as Chiyonofuji was known by fans, ripped through opponents from the seventh day of the 1988 summer meet to the penultimate day of the Fukuoka meet in November the same year, but missed the record when he lost to Onokuni on the final day.
Before the start of the makuuchi bouts, acting Japan Sumo Association chief Hiroyoshi Murayama apologized once again in a statement to sumo fans over a gambling scandal rocking the sport and alleged ties to organized crime, with Hakuho and all of the ''sanyaku,'' wrestlers in the top three ranks below yokozuna, bowing in a row.
Homasho (11-4), who was in the title race as the closest challenger to Hakuho until the 14th day, dropped to his second straight loss when he was sent sprawling with a left-handed shove from Russian Aran (11-4) but picked up his fourth Fighting Spirit Prize. Aran also won the accolade for the second meet in a row.
Mongolian Harumafuji banged up Bulgarian Kotooshu with a series of well-placed shoves before blasting his opponent over the straw bales to end his campaign on 10-5 along with his ozeki rival.
Georgia's Tochinoshin ended with a meager 6-9 record after toppling Kitataiki (6-9) into the ringside seats, while fellow komusubi Hakuba of Mongolia twisted down countryman Tokusegawa (8-7), finishing with an even worse 4-11 mark.
Sekiwake Kisenosato, who was on the bubble, fell to a losing record when he was jettisoned into the ringside seats by Mongolian Kakuryu, who improved to 11-4 and won his fifth Technique Prize.
Takamisakari, sumo's class clown who gets the crowd behind him with his pre-bout histrionics, was ushered over the edge by Shimotori (6-9) in a lopsided affair to finish on 9-6.
Earlier, Gagamaru of Georgia, a debutant in the elite division, finished with an unflattering mark of 5-10 after he was lifted out by Bushuyama, who notched his eighth win.
A total of 10 wrestlers from the top juryo and makuuchi divisions were suspended for the Nagoya meet and former ozeki Kotomitsuki was banned for life from the sport for gambling on baseball, which is suspected of being a source of income for gangsters.
Although the Emperor's Cup and other customary awards were not presented to Hakuho in the ''yusho'' ceremony, Niigata Prefecture gave him 600 kilograms of the region's Koshihikari rice as a consolation prize.
