After a successful home game in Tokyo, Japan seeks to secure 55 medals, including 20 golds, at the Paris Olympics with the largest delegations in oversea Games.
TOKYO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Japan is set to send approximately 400 athletes to the Paris Olympics, marking its largest delegation for an Olympic Games held outside Japan with a goal to secure 20 gold medals.
Three years ago in Tokyo, hosts Japan won a total of 58 medals, including 27 golds, 14 silvers, and 17 bronzes, at the Olympic Games. As Japanese athletes aim to continue their winning momentum, "Japan is aiming for 55 medals, including 20 golds, in Paris," said Mitsugi Ogata, secretary-general of the Japanese Olympic Committee and head of Japan's delegation to the Paris Games.
Both figures surpass Japan's previous highest count at an overseas Summer Olympics, which was 16 golds won in Athens in 2004. "If the athletes compete well, the target can be reached," Ogata added.
Japan demonstrated its strength in judo at Tokyo Games, winning nine gold medals. In Paris, Judoka Hifumi Abe and Uta Abe, both defending Olympic champions, are anticipated to become the first siblings in Olympic history to successfully defend their titles.
Over the past three years since the Tokyo Olympics, the Japanese wrestling team has undergone a transition, with four of the six weight class gold medalists stepping aside. Among the new generation, 20-year-old Akari Fujinami, from a wrestling family, stands out. Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported that she has won the 2021 and 2023 World Championships and has maintained an impressive unbeaten streak of 133 matches since junior high school, making her a strong contender for gold.
Japanese star gymnast Daiki Hashimoto showed excellent form by defending his individual all-around and horizontal bar titles at last year's World Championships in Antwerp. However, in May this year, Hashimoto pulled out of the NHK Trophy due to a right middle finger ligament injury, casting a shadow over his journey this summer.
In addition to traditional strongholds such as judo, wrestling, and gymnastics, Japan is also expected to win gold medals in newly-introduced sports including skateboarding, sport climbing, and breakdancing.
Japan is also targeting gold medals in table tennis, a sport where they have long rivaled China. Hina Hayata and Tomokazu Harimoto will strive to achieve what Mima Ito and Jun Mizutani did at the Tokyo Olympics, where they won the first mixed doubles gold medal in history by defeating Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen. Alongside 16-year-old Miwa Harimoto, who has grown rapidly through multiple WTT events, the Japanese team is expected to pose a significant challenge to the Chinese team.
Badminton presents another medal opportunity for Japan. Star player Akane Yamaguchi, who returned from injury earlier this year, along with first-time Olympians Aya Ohori and Kodai Naraoka, have expressed their determination to go all out for medals at the Paris Olympics. The women's doubles pair Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida aim for the gold medal, while Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino, who won bronze in mixed doubles three years ago, also aspire to go further this summer.
In team sports, traditional strongholds such as women's and men's soccer maintain a steady level, while the Japanese women's basketball team, which historically reached the finals and won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, remains formidable.
The boom in team sports has directly increased the number of athletes in the Japanese delegation, with historical breakthroughs in men's basketball, men's volleyball, and men's handball. For the first time since 1976, the Japanese men's basketball team qualified for the Olympics held overseas. The men's and women's volleyball teams are in top form, both finishing second at the 2024 Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
Additionally, Japan's gold medal hopes also lie in women's sabre, surfing, and women's javelin. ■