After losing to ozeki Hakuho by a sneaky sidestep maneuver in a playoff in the spring, you can bet your bottom dollar yokozuna Asashoryu is ready to put his countryman through the proverbial wringer at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.
Mongolian-born Hakuho will likely be given the green light for promotion to grand champion with a second straight title win and third overall Emperor's Cup at the 15-day meet kicking off Sunday at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
But if pre-tournament sparring was any indication of the wrath to come from a fuming yokozuna, Hakuho could find himself out of his depth in his quest for sumo's ultimate prize.