TOKYO - Yokozuna Onosato resumed full-scale training Wednesday at his Nishonoseki stable in Ami, Ibaraki Prefecture, in preparation for the Sept. 13-27 Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament.
The 26-year-old grand champion appeared in good condition as he executed his opening charge sharply and committed to an aggressive, attacking style over the course of 15 consecutive practice bouts against third-tier makushita division wrestlers.
"The angle of impact was good, and I was able to get my hips down firmly," he said.
Onosato has struggled to regain his form since injuring his left shoulder at last November's Kyushu tournament. He withdrew from two of the four grand tournaments held so far this year and managed just nine wins at the most recent meet in Nagoya in July.
The five-time Emperor's Cup winner nevertheless took encouragement from completing the entire 15-day schedule and is determined to lift the trophy for the first time this year at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
"I'm going to pick up the pace from here on out," he said.
Ozeki Kirishima also got back into the swing of things at his Otowayama stable in Tokyo ahead of his latest yokozuna promotion bid.
The Mongolian-born ring technician went through basic exercises including "shiko" leg stomps and "suriashi" sliding footwork and said he planned to begin visiting other stables from Thursday for training and practice bouts.
"I need to keep training hard and keep building my motivation," he said. "Training never lies."
The 30-year-old earned a second consecutive shot at promotion after finishing tied for the lead in Nagoya and advancing to a championship playoff won by Ukrainian star Aonishiki.
"If I think about it (promotion) too much, I get nervous," Kirishima said. "I'll try not to put pressure on myself."
