Grand champion Asashoryu put two nightmare bouts behind him with a thrashing of rank-and-filer Futeno at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday.
Top-ranked maegashira Toyonoshima, left, pushes sekiwake Kotoshogiku out of the ring on the third day of
the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium on Tuesday.
KYODO PHOTOAfter losing his first two matches at the 15-day meet, Asashoryu pounced on Futeno in the day's final bout at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, grinding the winless No. 4 maegashira over the straw bales in no-nonsense fashion for his first win.
Asashoryu won his 20th Emperor's Cup at the New Year meet in January but later had to shoot down accusations of bout-rigging by a weekly tabloid magazine.