At the Tokyo Olympics, Japan lost to Turkey, the gold medal in the previous tournament, 1-7 in the first match of the qualifying league for women's goalball.
Goalball is a goal ball in which visually impaired players alternately roll a ball with a bell toward the opponent's goal with three people in one team to compete for points.
Japan, which won the gold medal at the 2012 London Games and ranked 5th in the world ranking, faced the first match of the qualifying league held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City on the 25th.
The opponent was Turkey, which won the gold medal at the last Rio de Janeiro Games and ranked first in the world.
In the first half, Japan, who was preempted, caught up with the tie by Norika Hagiwara, the youngest player in the team, who scored a penalty throw from the opponent's foul.
However, two points were soon added to Turkey, leading 1 to 3 and turning back.
In the second half, Japan aimed for a counterattack, but a Turkish player with a large physique blocked the shot and could not score a goal.
In the qualifying league, 10 participating teams will be divided into 5 teams to play in a round robin, and the next match in Japan will be played against Brazil, which is ranked 3rd in the world ranking, on the 27th.
Hagiwara "There was something wrong with the defense."
Hagiwara, who scored the only score for the team, said, "I'm glad I got a score because I aimed at the course I've been practicing all the time. I've done it. "
For the next game, he was enthusiastic, saying, "There are some parts that overseas players cannot match, such as power and physique, but we want to work together as a team to aim for the gold medal."