Japan, aiming for the first gold medal in the Tokyo Paralympics and Boccia group, won the semi-final on the 4th by winning 6-4 after a close battle with Brazil.

In the semi-finals, we will face Thailand, who is aiming for the gold medal in the third consecutive tournament in the world ranking first place.

Boccia is a competition designed for people with severe disabilities such as cerebral palsy, where they throw red and blue balls to compete for how close they can be to the white target ball, the "jack ball."



On the 3rd, the second day of the qualifying league for groups and pairs was held at the Ariake Gymnastics Center in Koto-ku, Tokyo.



Of these, Japan, which ranks second in the world in the group, played against Brazil, which ranks third in the world, in the final round four.



In the first end, ace Takayuki Hirose pitched with high precision and hit the "jack ball" perfectly to take the lead with 1-0.



In the second end, captain Hidetaka Sugimura, who won the gold medal individually, repelled the opponent's ball and then connected his own ball to the score to add one more point.



In the 3rd end, 3 points were returned to Brazil and it was reversed to 2 to 3, but in the 4th end, Hirose showed a strong pitch and took 2 points and reversed again.



In the final 6th end, where 1 point was returned in the 5th end and the score was 4-4, Hirose flicked the opponent's ball close to the "jack ball" and scored 2 points, 6-4. I won a close battle with.



Japan will advance to the semi-finals on the 4th with a total record of 3 wins and 1 loss in the qualifying league and will play against Thailand.



Thailand is number one in the world, Japan lost in the final of the last Rio de Janeiro tournament, and it will take three consecutive victories in this tournament.

On the other hand, in the pair's qualifying league, Japan beat Portugal 7-0 in the third round and finished the fourth end in the final round four against Brazil, tying 3 to 3 in the class with the most obstacles. I won the tie-breaking end that was held.



We will advance to the semi-finals with a total record of 3 wins and 1 loss in the qualifying league, and will play against Greece on the 4th.



In the class of disabilities other than cerebral palsy, he lost to Thailand 2-8 in the 3rd round and beat Colombia 7-1 in the final 4th round, but his total record was 1 win and 3 losses in the qualifying league. I was eliminated.

Pair Kawamoto "Correction of communication is the winning factor"

Keisuke Kawamoto said, "I couldn't communicate in-depth with my teammates yesterday, but I was able to correct it today. I think it's Japan's strength to be able to discuss strategies in detail and assemble them." I looked back.



Kazuki Takahashi enthusiastically said, "In addition to being able to correct the bad points, the common feeling within the team that we will not lose with feelings led to the victory. Tomorrow wants to win both the semi-finals and the finals."



Keiko Tanaka said with tears in her eyes, "I'm happy. Tomorrow is the last, so I want to finish with a smile."