TL;DR
- Hōshōryū lost the Kyushu tournament championship playoff to Aoyagi, finishing the year without a title.
- Hōshōryū has a four-match losing streak against Anōjin, a significant obstacle to his first Yokozuna championship.
- Former Sekiwake Taka-tsukasa suggests Hōshōryū needs to practice lower charges and follow-up attacks to beat Anōjin.
- Yoshinofuji's strategy of attacking Anōjin's shoulders after the initial charge might offer Hōshōryū a way to overcome his struggles.
■初顔合わせから一度も勝てず…
This year's Sumo wrestling season concluded with The Kyushu tournament held in November. West Yokozuna Hōshōryū contended for the championship until the final day but ultimately lost the victory playoff to East Sekiwake Aoyagi via an Oshi-nage throw. Since his promotion to Yokozuna after the New Year tournament, he will finish the year without a single championship victory.
Regarding the loss of the championship at the Kyushu tournament, the poor record against **Anōjin** was also a significant topic. After suffering two consecutive defeats in their first encounter at the Nagoya tournament this year, **Anōjin** then defeated **Hōshōryū** on the 14th day of the Kyushu tournament, when **Hōshōryū** had two losses and **Anōjin** had three, sending **Hōshōryū** down to three losses. Furthermore, as mentioned previously, because **Hōshōryū** also lost in the championship playoff the following day, the total losing streak against **Anōjin** stands at four consecutive matches.
九州場所後に大関へ昇進した安青錦の存在も、横綱初優勝へ立ちはだかる大きな障壁となっている豊昇龍。来年は何としても苦手意識を払しょくしたいところだが、そこに向けて改善すべき問題点があるようだ。
■立ち合い低く当たるだけではダメ？
The individual who commented on the match against Seino-nishiki was Taka-tsukasa, a former Sekiwake who was active in the Makuuchi division from around 1990 to 2000. On November 25th, he uploaded a video to his official YouTube channel, "Taka-tsukasa Beya." In the video, he summarized the Kyushu tournament while expressing his views on multiple wrestlers, including Hōshōryū.
その中で、同氏は豊昇龍について「（安青錦に）4連敗して、苦手意識というよりも、自分が情けなかったんじゃないかな」とV逸の心情を推察。
Continuing, he pointed out that if one felt pathetic, the most important thing would be to engage in practice bouts more than others, striving to hit lower by even one or two centimeters, as their body was already arching upwards. He added that if they continued to wrestle in that manner, they would increasingly lose to Aoiyoshi. He stressed that the current situation wouldn't change unless they made an effort to engage lower at the initial charge than Aoiyoshi.
In the Kyushu tournament, Hōshōryū, after being defeated by absorbing blows in the main bouts, charged headfirst in the championship playoff. However, the individual commented, "Although he's taking the impact head-on, the follow-up attack after absorbing it is crucial. Can he attack low or not? Aoiyama attacks low and waits for the opponent to make a mistake. He's reacting to that," suggesting that simply attacking low might not be enough to break down Aoiyama.
■義ノ富士の戦略を参考にすべき？
貴闘力氏が重要視した「受けた後の攻め」については様々な方法が考えられるが、九州場所11日目に安青錦を破った東前頭5枚目・義ノ富士の相撲はヒントになるかもしれない。
同戦の義ノ富士は立ち合い勢いよく前に出て安青錦を突き起こすと、すかさず回転のいい突っ張りで追撃。体勢を立て直す暇をほとんど与えないまま土俵外へ突き出す完勝を収めた。
Regarding this sumo match, Oyakata Minatogawa (former Ozeki Takakeisho), who provided commentary on the NHK sumo broadcast that day, stated, "After the initial charge, he raised his chin firmly on the second push, and his shoulder work was excellent. The shoulders don't move forward or backward, so they absorb all the force. Even if you try to push and move them, they're a rigid part, making it easy to land a thrust. I believe the key to this victory was not giving Sekitori Aosho a chance to recover or gain composure." He praised Yoshinofuji's strategy of focusing his attack on the shoulder area, where the force of his thrusts could be effectively transmitted after lifting Aosho's upper body, suggesting that adopting this strategy could be a way to overcome their current situation.
優勝決定戦で安青錦に敗れた直後、右手で地面をパンと叩いて悔しさを露わにしていた豊昇龍。来年もカモにされ続けるのか、それとも苦手意識を克服できるのかは要注目だ。
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