Grand champion Asashoryu edged closer to his fifth Emperor's Cup after tearing through rank-and-filer Kakizoe for his 11th straight win at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament on Wednesday.
The fiery Mongolian maintained his flawless record and went two wins clear at the top of the leaderboard at the 15-day meet by blasting out Kakizoe in a matter of seconds in the day's final bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Kakizoe dropped to 8-3.
Asashoryu got some breathing space at the top as ozeki Chiyotaikai suffered a second shock defeat, this time at the hands of komusubi Tochinonada, and dropped into a three-way tie with rank-and-filer Kotomitsuki and ozeki Kaio at 9-2.