As was expected before the recent Haru Basho in Osaka, both yokozuna, on the back of too little practice, and too many public engagements started the tournament less than convincingly.
The opening day saw Hakuho lucky to keep his balance against a spirited Aminishiki, with Harumafuji also less than impressive in opening his account with a disappointing backwards pedaling uwatedashinage (pulling overarm throw) in his bout with Tochiozan.
A fortnight later, however, Hakuho had once again demonstrated to his peers that benchmarks in sumo remain his, and his alone to set. Harumafuji had disappointed throughout and again has some questioning the validity of his promotion to the sport's top rank. Finishing 9-6 on Day 15, his second attempt at rank to attempt big man sumo, like the first in November last year failed miserably. Come May, expect him to move back into his comfort zone, combining forward moving sumo with the hit 'n' move backwards moving sumo that brought him to this level.
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