Tomokaze (left) was defeated by Ishi via a slap-down (hatakikomi) in the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament’s second day at Ryogoku Kokugikan.
East Juryo 5 Tomokaze (Nakamura stable) suffered his second straight loss from the start, falling to East Juryo 6 Ishi (Kise stable) by slap-down. After the initial charge, Tomokaze moved forward but was caught off-balance by Ishi’s slapping technique and fell onto his stomach.
“I just couldn’t get that last step forward, as usual. But my feet are moving pretty well, aren’t they? It’s not bad,” Tomokaze said with a composed expression. In his first-day bout against Kitanonowaka, he also showed no inclination to slap down, highlighting a conscious effort to push forward this tournament.
Despite starting with consecutive losses for the second straight tournament, he remarked, “I haven’t switched on yet. I’m a slow starter. No slap-downs (my specialty)? That’s fine. They will definitely come out.”