Aug 02 (Kyodo) - Former ozeki Terunofuji completed a stunning comeback to the top division Sunday by clinching the July Grand Sumo Tournament with a final-day victory over sekiwake Mitakeumi.
By winning the penultimate bout on Day 15, the 28-year-old, fighting as a rank-and-file No. 17 maegashira, finished with a 13-2 record at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan and avoided a tie-breaking playoff.
A loss would have seen the Mongolian fall into a three-way tie with Mitakeumi (11-4) and ozeki Asanoyama (12-3), winner of the day's final bout against sekiwake Shodai (11-4).
After taking an outside belt grip at the jump, Terunofuji quickly muscled fellow Outstanding Performance Award winner Mitakeumi out backwards to claim his first championship in more than five years.
