Ten days into the ongoing Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament and Ichiyamamoto ¡ª a 31-year-old journeyman who hasn¡¯t posted more than 8 wins in a basho since 2023 ¡ª stunningly led the race for the Emperor¡¯s Cup going into Wednesday¡¯s bouts.
Coming off back-to-back losing records ¡ª with the most recent being a 5-10 outing in May ¡ª no one could have predicted such a hot start for the Chuo University graduate.
The big question, of course, is whether or not Ichiyamamoto can keep his title charge going over the meet¡¯s final third, and become the 12th first-time champion to be crowned since January 2020.
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