Yokozuna Akebono and fellow-grand champion Takanohana missed the public practice session Thursday before the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, raising questions about their readiness for the upcoming Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
Defending champion Musashimaru, however, served notice that he is ready to resume carting home the tournament hardware by going 13-2 against the ozeki in practice bouts prior to the start of the Sept. 3-17 tourney at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
Takanohana sat out the practice session apparently still hobbled by the sprained left elbow that forced him to withdraw midway through the Nagoya basho in July and the summer tour of local municipalities. Akebono, winner of his first championship in more than three years in Nagoya, skipped the session with a cold.