Hoshoryu dominates rivals in practice, but real test awaits at May Basho

One of sumo’s most reliable truisms is that “results in training mean nothing.”

For every wrestler who has carried impressive pre-basho form into a tournament, there is another whose wins in practice turned out to be little more than a mirage.

Make no mistake — Japan’s national sport has perhaps the most violent and intense training sessions of any athletic endeavor, but it’s also a sport where practice results are unreliable if taken as a predictor of future success.