Last month, an alternative tournament for the national high school selection tournament for karate was held in Tokyo, which was canceled due to the impact of the earthquake that observed violent shaking with a seismic intensity of 6 or higher in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. Was shown.
The Karate National High School Selection Tournament was scheduled to be held in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture from the 24th of last month, with 189 teams of men and women who won the preliminary rounds in each region and more than 1480 players.
However, the Japan Karatedo Federation, which sponsors the event, said that the earthquake that observed shaking with a seismic intensity of 6 or higher in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures on the 16th of last month caused damage to transportation facilities and the venue where the event was planned to be held. The tournament has been cancelled.
After that, the Karatedo Federation and others held discussions to create a place where athletes who had been practicing could demonstrate their results, and from the 21st, an alternative tournament will be held in Koto-ku, Tokyo.
Approximately 1,400 athletes who were scheduled to participate in the selection tournament participated in the alternative tournament, and on the 21st, a "form" was held to compete for the accuracy and strength of the technique.
Of these, players from Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures showed powerful performances in the men's individual competition.
Sota Ando, a third-year student at Tohoku Gakuin in Miyagi, said, "The number of tournaments has decreased due to the influence of the new coronavirus, and I feel sick because the tournament I was aiming for due to the earthquake has disappeared. I was more motivated than that. "
In addition, Miyagi's Sendai Jonan High School third grader, Masami Komatsu, said, "I was nervous, but I'm very glad I was able to participate. I'm just grateful."
The tournament will run until the 24th of this month.