Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino won the bronze medal in the badminton mixed doubles held on the 30th of the Tokyo Olympics.

In the interview immediately after the match, it was Hiroyuki Endo, who was defeated in the match the day before, when Watanabe made a pair in the men's doubles and expressed his gratitude before his partner.

Watanabe "I was able to play the game with three people including Mr. Endo."


Higashino "I think it's a medal that three people got because I worked hard

with three people." Endo, who turns



35, was the last Rio de Janeiro. He is a veteran who participated in the same event in the tournament and won the best eight. It is said that when the partner at that time retired after the tournament, he said, "I was once disappointed."



At that time, Watanabe, who had just joined the same team, asked Endo, "Would you like to make a pair?" The year difference between Watanabe and Endo is "11". Although it was an unusual age difference, I decided to aim for the Tokyo Olympics with Watanabe.



The three players, including Higashino, are members of the same team based in Tokyo. Endo, who is a big brother for the two young players, has always supported them as a senior and a fellow representative, such as buying a practice partner for shuttle hitting in team practice.



Pulled by veterans, Watanabe played an active part such as winning the second place in the All Japan General Championship, which decides the best badminton in Japan from the beginning of the pair formation, and ranked 4th in the world ranking, which is the highest in Japan's history in this event, in the Tokyo Olympics that he has been aiming for. I was supposed to face it.



Watanabe also participated in another event, mixed doubles, with Higashino, and it was a challenge in the so-called "dual wield".


At this time, the three of us swore to "take a medal with three of us."



At the start of the tournament, Watanabe had to play twice as many games as the other players, and was fighting with just the right amount of physical strength. Watanabe was often absent even when he would normally want to work out a strategy or practice together as a pair.


Still, Endo understood the situation and kept pushing Watanabe's back.

The men's doubles quarterfinals on the 29th.


The match against the Taiwanese pair, who ranked 3rd in the world, was a close match, but in the end it was pushed by the opponent and lost straight, and Endo's Tokyo Olympics ended.



Immediately after the match, Watanabe, who had been interviewing with a cool expression until then, showed big tears next to Endo, and the regret that he did not reach the medal promised to his senior was considerable.



After this match, Watanabe was entrusted by Endo with the dream of winning an Olympic medal that he couldn't fulfill, saying, "I want you to win the medal, which is the dream of the three of us."

While many Japanese players were unable to demonstrate their abilities and were eliminated, Watanabe played a series of heartfelt plays in the mixed doubles bronze medal match on the 30th.



It was clear that I was tired in the 10th game of this tournament, but I continued to move on the court until the end.



My thoughts were with Higashino, who made a pair.

Let's fulfill the promise that the three of us have vowed to each other.


With that word in mind, the pair of Watanabe and Higashino who kept chasing the shuttle to the end brilliantly took the last point.



The only medal in Japan this year was the one that three people grabbed.