Ozeki Asashoryu looked every inch the immovable object as he gave veteran Takanonami a sumo lesson to score his sixth win and maintain sole possession of the lead at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament on Friday.
Chiyotaikai and Musoyama kept the pressure on the leader with convincing wins to stay in contention at 5-1 along with rank-and-filer Akinoshima, while Tochiazuma produced a much-needed win in his battle against relegation to make it a clean sweep for ozeki.
With injured yokozuna Musashimaru out of the picture following his withdrawal from the 15-day meet earlier in the day, Mongolian menace Asashoryu emerged as the early favorite among ozeki chasing the title with a cheeky victory at Fukuoka Kokusai Center.
Takanonami (4-2), who had shocked Musashimaru 24 hours earlier, outpsyched Asashoryu at the face-off and had the ozeki on the rails as he charged him up against the edge of the ring.