| overtime finish!
Well, we were looking set for a dramatic finish as both Yokozuna Asashoryu and Ozeki Hakuho entered the last day of the tournament with only two losses and tied for the lead. If either one were to win and the other lose, the winner would be clear. If both won or both lost, the tournament would be tied and there would have to be an over-time match between them to decide things.
They met the day before and Asashoryu defeated Hakuho with a very skillful throw, so a final showdown would seem to be in his favor if it got to that.
The two final matches of the final day saw Hakuho defeat the big Bulgarian Kotooshu, and Asashoryu down Chiyotaikai.
Asashoryu's win over Chiyotaikai was controversial because he beat him by jumping sideways at the initial charge and pushing him down as he surged forward. This is a legal move, but considered a 'wussy' way to win in Sumo, and certainly not the kind of Sumo a grand champion should show. It was clear that Asashoryu was thinking about the extra match he would have if both he and Hakuho won (and he saw Hakuho's win) and was trying to end the match quickly while expending the least amount of energy necessary to save 'gas' for the overtime match. It was pretty shocking because a top Rikishi is expected to at least meet his opponent's initial charge head on and show his power before resorting to any 'tricky' stuff if he can't just power him out of the ring. There was a lot of whispering and head-shaking among the knowledgeable fans.
Come the overtime match the money was clearly on Asashoryu. Tension was high because such matches are rare and because Asashoryu had lost his first two matches on the first two days of the tournament and had fought back so far. No one had lost the first two and come back to win it all in about 20 years. On the other hand, a lot of people were pulling for Hakuho because of Asashoryu's wussy performance in the last match.
The two Mongolians faced off, and when the action began Asashoryu charged forward strongly and Hakuho jumped to the side and pushed him down in the same wuss move that Asashoryu had previously used. Asashoryu almost caught on in time, and his left hand just barely brushed the clay, but that's all it takes. The match was over in about one second.
Some cushions were flying at the upset, but for the fans in the know it was a very uncomfortable ending to what had been a great tournament with lots of drama and some great sumo. Normally, for an Ozeki in Hakuho's position a win like this would have greatly helped his chances of becoming a Yokozuna in the near future, but as it was this 'win' probably set him back a few steps.
So, it was a dramatic last day, but an unsatisfying ending.
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Wolfgang says:  I could think of a million better things to do in Japan for a month besides jumping off of picnic tables. - x893
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