“Shibuya Open Para-Badminton 2022” sponsored by Shibuya Ward and the Japan Para-Badminton Federation (JPBF) was held at the Shibuya Ward Sports Center on the 24th. Eleven people, including JPBF’s JPC next-generation athlete training strengthening players this year, participated in the round-robin battle in each category of wheelchair (WH1-WH2), standing (SL4-SU5), and short stature (SH6). Conducted mixed singles. Ken Hasebe, the mayor of Shibuya, who rushed to the venue, competed for the top.
In the wheelchair category, three people competed, and 26-year-old Hiroto Iizuka won the championship as a JPC next-generation athlete training strengthening player. At the age of 22, he became a wheelchair due to a traffic accident. Originally an experienced badminton player, racket work and tactics were shining in this tournament as well. Looking back on the match, Iizuka said, “I’m glad I was aiming for the championship. However, I was nervous and made many mistakes, so I’d like to correct it. I commented.
Although he lost to Iizuka in the final race, Noriyuki Mori, who has been in his career for five years, came in second. Mori is a former Japan national team for men’s wheelchair basketball and is a Paralympian who also participated in the Athens and Beijing Paralympics. About five years ago, I was invited by Hiroshi Murayama, a medalist of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, to start playing badminton. Unlike wheelchair basketball, the competition wheelchair itself and the operation are different from wheelchair basketball, “especially it is difficult to move from the front to the back of badminton,” but it is high, such as identifying the opponent’s shot and scoring consecutively at key points. He was showing responsiveness. In 3rd place was the name of a female friend, Hoshi.
In the standing category in which four people participated, Kenichi Hamada of SL4 with lower limb disorder defeated Tokimasa Nara of SU5 with upper limb disorder at the end of the full game and took the lead. Because the classes are different, this day is the first match. Hamada took the lead in the first game, but allowed Nara to score consecutively in the second game and entered the final game. Hamada pushed Nara out at the end while both sides were doing their best to fight each other’s physical strength. Hamada, who has the ability to rank 3rd in the Japan Championships, strongly said, “I want to win the championship this year and become a representative.” Shunpei Takeuchi was in 3rd place, and Shiho Sawada was in 4th place.
Sawada struggled as the only girl in a high-level standing class and won the fighting award. She said, “She was able to fight the boys and experience the speed and power of the smash. She also strengthens herself and it’s fun to experience playing against different people.” Sawada is an 18-year-old who is expected to win a gold medal in SL4 class women’s singles at the Asian Youth Para Games held in Bahrain last year. She has a congenital two-finger defect and her right leg under-knee defect, her middle school and high school follow the shuttle in club activities, and from this year she will practice as a member of society on the club team of her company. Encourage. Sawada has been steadily strengthening her training with her competitive prosthesis that she made last summer. The class in Japan is led by Ryo Fujino, who is fifth in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Women’s Singles, and she emphasized her words, “The goal is to beat Ryo-san.”
Four people participated in the short stature SH6. The JPBF player discovery and training project, Parabad Academy student, Yasukawa Suzuki won the championship. The final match with Tomoya Ueno, who stood on the podium at the Asian Youth Para Games, was a fierce battle for points, and it was a close match that involved the full game. The final game will be 19-19, which is unyielding, but Suzuki, who kept his concentration until the end and continued to inspire himself, took it off. Suzuki said, “I was in 2nd place last time (predecessor Shibuya Mayor’s Cup), so I was aiming for 1st place this time. .. Jun Aoki is in 3rd place and Yuko Igarashi is in 4th place.
(Interview / text / shooting / Miharu Araki)
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Author: Miharu ArakiMA SPORTS representative, writer
