First Day 1 - July 2010 Grand Sumo Tournament Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Nagoya meet gets under way under specter of gambling ring "...The Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament kicked off the opening day on Sunday to a nearly packed house shaken but undeterred by a gambling scandal rocking the ancient Japanese sport. Grand champion Hakuho, bidding for his third consecutive title, got off to a turbo start with a victory over Georgian Tochinoshin, shrugging off his own critics following a gaffe he made earlier this week. In the day's final at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Hakuho quickly got both hands wrapped around the newly promoted komusubi before rolling him to the dirt with an overarm throw. Sumo's lone yokozuna won the previous two meets with perfect 15-0 marks and is now on a 33-bout winning streak dating back to January. Hakuho got in a bit of hot water after admitting to gambling on ''hanafuda'' Japanese card games, but he has not been implicated in the more serious baseball gambling ring, which is allegedly linked to Japan's criminal underworld. He later criticized the sumo association for going too far by deciding not to present the coveted Emperor's Cup, or any other awards at the 15-day Nagoya meet. Outside the auditorium the mood was somber with a tightened police presence on the lookout for any criminal elements and signs posted near the entrance strictly forbidding gangsters from the premise. Inside, an announcer repeated the same message over the PA system. Hiroshi Murayama, who is acting chief for suspended Japan Sumo Association ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6DHEOSVnlw&hl=en