The Japanese national team for the Tokyo Paralympics and Wheelchair Rugby won the bronze medal for the second consecutive tournament, beating Australia in the 3rd place playoff on the 29th.

It was 46-year-old veteran Shinichi Shimakawa who gave the opportunity to recover from the team that lost in the semi-finals the day before and had a dream of a gold medal.

The semi-final on the 28th.

Immediately after losing to England, Japan national team captain Yukinobu Ike turned down, saying, "It's not easy to switch," and ace and Daisuke Ikezaki couldn't stop crying.


Most of the players dropped their shoulders, and the Japanese national team was covered with an unprecedented sense of collapse.



Veteran Shimakawa was the first to speak out to rebuild such a team.

I called out to Ike in the locker room after the defeat.



"If this is the case, I will lose tomorrow."


"Let's have a meeting when I get home



.

"

Shimakawa is from Kumamoto prefecture.

At the age of 21, he had a disability in both legs and left arm due to a traffic accident at work, and started playing at the age of 24.

With his powerful tackle and speed, he is one of the key players in the offense and defense that has been selected as the representative of Japan since the 2004 Athens Paralympics.



On the night of returning to the Olympic Village, Shimakawa called in front of the players who gathered in front of the Three Agitos, which is also a symbol of the Paralympics.



"I won't go back to the game I lost. I can cry no matter how much I cry, so let's spit out all my regrets so that I can switch to tomorrow morning



." It is said that positive words came out little by little, such as "Let's show our rugby."

The next day's bronze medal match.


The opponent was Australia, which ranked first in the world.

Japan also played against Australia in the qualifying league on the 27th, and won 57 to 53 at this time, but the attacks centered on ace Ryley Batt and others are powerful.



In the first half, Japan severely marked bat players, centered on captain Ike.

He took the try one after another, such as inviting the opponent's mistake with a strong defense, and led 30 to 25 in the first half.

It didn't seem to be dragging the shock of the defeat the day before.

Ike assembled an attack with an accurate pass, and Ikezaki took the team's most 23 tries.

Shimakawa also empowered the team in play.

A powerful tackle to the bat player who aimed for a try when the third period had less than one minute left.

The bat player who fell irresistibly became a foul and led to consecutive points in Japan.

Japan beat Australia 60-52 to win the bronze medal for the second consecutive tournament.

For the first time, Shimakawa got the feelings he had in his chest.



"I didn't really want to have such a meeting. I woke up earlier than planned. I tried to go to bed again, but the losing game got stuck in my head. It was very hard, but when I showed my weakness I managed to be careful



because it would have a

negative effect on the team. ”The

veteran's thoughts, which have been thinking about the team, have certainly arrived.

Although it did not reach the dream of standing at the top, it was a bronze medal that was the culmination of five years for Japan.

[Japan National Team Results of this tournament]

▽ Qualifying League


Round 1: Japan 53-51 France


Round 2: Japan 60-51 Denmark


Round 3: Japan 57-53 Australia


▽ Semifinals


Japan 49-55 England


▽ 3rd place deciding match


Japan 60-52 Australia