In November, 1957, a maegashira ranked near the foot of the makunouchi division went 15-0 to claim his first ever yusho. His name was Tamanoumi, a 34-year-old Oita man, and his name goes down in history as the winner of the first official Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament.
Will his modern-day Oita counterpart, ozeki Chiyotaikai, follow suit? Or will Emperor's Cup glory at the 50th basho to be held in Kyushu be bestowed upon Fukuoka native and hometown ozeki Kaio? We'll have the answer soon, but you won't get many hardcore fans of the national sport willing to wager on this pair.
Kaio is still suffering back pains and is carrying another obligatory kadoban label, which puts him in danger of demotion should he do worse than 8-7 this time out -- thanks to a makekoshi losing record in September.
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