Chiyotaikai erased the onus of being a "kadoban" ozeki Sunday by ramming Takanowaka out of the ring for his eighth straight win of the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
The win also kept the Kokonoe stable ozeki in the thick of the race for the Emperor's Cup at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan with yokozuna Musashimaru and surprising Mongolian maegashira Kyokushuzan.
Chiyotaikai came into the summer tourney in danger of losing his ozeki ranking with a second straight losing record after finishing the spring meet in March with an unseemly 7-8 mark.