Tokyo: With only 9 days to go until the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, Japan’s doubles specialist, Yuta Watanabe who is considered one of the best men’s doubles and mixed doubles players of this generation since Park Joo-Bong (Korea), Kim Dong-Moon (Korea), Lee Yong Dae (Korea) and Zhang Nan (China) dominated the two categories in their respective eras.
Yuta Watanabe and his mixed doubles partner, Arisa Higashino, both graduated from Tomioka High School in Fukushima Prefecture would like to win the Olympic gold medal to give back to the Fukushima community. Their high school was located about 10 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that suffered a multiple-reactor meltdown from the magnitude 9.0 earthquake which struck off Japan’s northeastern shore on March 11, 2011. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded to have hit Japan and generating enormous tsunami waves that spread across miles of shoreline, climbing as high as 130 feet (40 meters).
Participating in an online interview on July 8th, Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino were determined to do well in the mixed doubles event at the Tokyo Olympics.
“We want to show courage and give smiles to our community through badminton,” said Watanabe, who also aiming to win the men’s doubles event with Hiroyuki Endo.
“Due to the cancellation of many tournaments, it’s going to be very challenging in the Olympics. I believe our opponents are sharing the same feelings too. I think if we keep ourselves in good shape, we will have a fighting chance,” added Watanabe.
Watanabe/Higashino were juniors in their high school when the disaster struck in 2011. That incident has sharpened their focus and they are on a mission to do well and give back to the community through the Tokyo Olympics.
“We are aiming to win the gold medal for Fukushima Prefecture. We want to thank people who took care of us and want to give something back to them in the format of an Olympic gold medal,” said Higashino.
“I want to do my best to practice a little more so that I can win the gold medal at the Olympics,” continued Higashino.
Watanabe, who will also be playing in the men’s doubles event, expressed his commitment and his desire to participate in both events.
“I play badminton because I wanted to be the best in the world in both events. I would like to show the next generation of players that the possibilities are endless in badminton,” added Watanabe.
In 2018, Yuta Watanabe/Arisa Higashino became the first Japanese mixed doubles pair to ever win the All England title. They also reclaimed the prestigious title in 2021.
Meanwhile, Watanabe and Endo have defeated World No. 1 men’s pair – Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo six straight times since the 2019 Badminton Asia Championships and are currently ranked World No. 4.
