Japan stars target Olympic medal in Paris
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - OCTOBER 23: Kyoko Hosokawa of Japan scores a try during the Pool B Rugby World Cup 2021 match between Japan and Italy at Waitakere Stadium on October 23, 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
2023.12.03
Japan’s men’s and women’s teams are eager to take advantage of their opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024, having purchased their tickets to France in Osaka earlier this month.
With their spots in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 reserved for both men and women, Japanese athletes are focused on winning a medal when they compete in France.
Japan won both the men’s and women’s Asia Rugby qualifications in Osaka earlier this month, guaranteeing a hat-trick of berths in both Olympic competitions.sportzlanka.com
When rugby sevens made its Games debut in Rio 2016, the nation came dangerously close to winning a medal when its men lost to South Africa in the bronze medal game at Deodoro Stadium.
After five years, the team performed poorly at home, finishing in eleventh place, while the Sakura Sevens, who had placed tenth in Rio, concluded the women’s competition in twelveth place.
But when the medals are awarded at Stade de France in July, both teams want to create history and gain a spot on the podium.
Yume Hirano, the captain of Sakura Sevens, stated, “I felt frustrated when we ended up [with] disappointing results in our homeland when I played in the Tokyo Olympics.”
“I believe that on the Olympic stage, I should repay that debt.”
Taisei Hayashi, the men’s captain, thinks that the Games in Paris present another chance to increase sevens’ popularity in Japan.
“It’s fantastic for us to have made it to the Olympics, the greatest sporting event,” he continued. That, in my opinion, will contribute to the growth of the sevens game in Japan in the upcoming days, weeks, and months.
“Hopefully, we can continue to perform well and take home a medal in Paris. I am loving every challenge and experience right now, and I have a good feeling that our team is growing stronger.
“I want to continue and set a significant goal for myself at the Olympics.”
Wakaba Hara was encouraged by her home country’s performance in qualifying and is eager to introduce the sport to a larger audience in 2020. Hara scored two tries in five outings for the Sakura Sevens in Tokyo.
“We have a spot to be watched by the public because we qualified for the Olympics, which makes me really happy,” she remarked.
“This time, we hosted the qualifying tournament at home, which has allowed us to introduce rugby sevens to a large audience here in Japan.”
“Now, I’m hoping that the players and the spectators here can come together and work hard to win an Olympic medal.”
The Sakura Sevens will compete against the world’s top teams at HSBC SVNS 2024 in order to be ready for their third Games debut.
Japan defeated Ireland to secure fifth place in the HSBC France Sevens in Toulouse, capping a successful 2023 campaign in the women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
That was the team’s best-ever tournament performance in the Series, and skipper Hirano is optimistic that they will keep getting better in the lead-up to the SVNS season, which begins this weekend in Dubai.
“I think that will help us prepare for winning an Olympic medal,” the speaker stated, “because we’ll be ready to play against the best teams in the world in the upcoming World Series.”
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