Mongolian-born D.Davaajargal, better known as ‘Yokozuna’ Hakuho moved one step away from the career wins mark of the late ‘Yokozuna’ Chiyonofuji on Sunday, when he improved to 8-0 at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

Hakuho, who won May’s Grand Tournament with a perfect 15-0 record, has been unbeaten in 23 straight matches since he withdrew injured in March. By winning his 1,044th career bout, he moved within one win of Chiyonofuji, whose 1,045 victories are second on the all-time list.

Hakuho, now three wins shy of Kaio’s record of 1,047 victories, started the day tied for the lead with No. 8 ‘Maegashira’ Aoiyama. But the Bulgarian bruiser suffered his first defeat to fall into a two-way tie for second with ‘Ozeki’ Takayasu.

But Hakuho had to overcome an unorthodox attack from No. 4 ‘Maegashira’ Ura, as the tournament passed the halfway mark at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.