Yokozuna Hakuho took out Yoshikaze but ozeki warhorse Kaio spurned another opportunity to reach a new milestone on Tuesday, the third day of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
Hakuho got off to an explosive start in the day's finale at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium and after momentarily retreating, slapped down the top-ranked maegashira to maintain his unbeaten start to the 15-day basho.
Hakuho is seeking an unprecedented eighth consecutive title to surpass former yokozuna Asashoryu here at the first regular meet since match-fixing scandal plunged the national sport into its worst ever crisis.