New yokozuna Terunofuji defeated sekiwake Mitakeumi on Friday to remain one win ahead of the three-man trailing pack at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
Terunofuji (11-2), in the hunt for his fifth career grand tournament championship, bounced back from a loss on Thursday by beating Mitakeumi (8-5) for the 11th time in 15 career bouts.
A day after he was badly beaten on the opening charge by sekiwake Meisei, Terunofuji was again going quickly in reverse. This time, however, the yokozuna latched onto his charging opponent's belt and, after failing to throw him, won a long, slow war of position before easing Mitakeumi over the straw bales.