The finals of the Japan Championships for the parasport ball game boccia were held in Aichi Prefecture, and 20-year-old Shunsuke Uchida, who won the world championships last month, won the tournament for the second time in a row.

Boccia is a sport devised for people with severe disabilities such as cerebral palsy, in which red and blue balls are thrown at each other to see how close they can get to a white target ball.



On the 22nd, the second day of the Boccia Japan Championship held in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, the finals of four individual classes for men and women were held.



In the final of the men's disability class other than cerebral palsy, 20-year-old Uchida, who won the gold medal for the first time as a Japanese athlete at the world championships last month, played against Kintaro Fujii.



In the second end with a 1-point lead, Uchida hit the opponent's ball with the second ball, and from there, he showed a satisfying shot that accurately brought his own ball to the target ball in a row, scoring 6 points at once. rice field.



After that, he maintained the lead with a steady game and won 8-1 to win the tournament again.

Uchida ``I won with confidence''

Regarding the second end, where he scored six points, Uchida said, ``The opponent continued to make mistakes, and after the opponent threw all the balls, I was able to get all the balls closer to the target ball than the ball, so I was able to play as I wanted. I made it. It was really big."



He added, "I'm happy that I won the world championship and that I was able to produce good results in this tournament under pressure. I went into this tournament thinking that everyone was going to beat me, so winning gave me confidence. I want to continue to produce solid results and train even harder to qualify for the Paris Paralympics and win a medal.”

In the final of the men's cerebral palsy class, Hidetaka Sugimura, who won the gold medal in the individual at the Tokyo Paralympic Games two years ago, played against his rival Takaki Hirose, who won the bronze medal in the team.



In the second end, where Hirose was trailing by one point, Sugimura struggled to find the right distance and scored three goals with outstanding control.



After that, Sugimura returned a goal in the 3rd end, but in the 4th end, Hirose's strategy of placing the target ball far away was successful and led to the score, defeating Sugimura 4-2 in the tournament. We have won 3 consecutive victories.



In addition, in the women's class with severe disabilities such as cerebral palsy, Yumi Endo won her first victory by beating Yuriko Fujii, who won the bronze medal at last month's world championships, 5-1.

Hirose "Think until the last minute"

Hirose commented on his match with rival Hidetaka Sugimura, "We've been together for so many years, almost several decades, and we've played each other for years in the finals, so we know each other. I wanted to get as many points as possible, thinking about whether I should play long or play long, so I decided to play only long this time.”



He added, "When I think about the long-term, I have in mind the participation in the Paris Paralympics, so I would like to demonstrate my abilities at international competitions in the future and aim to participate in the Paris Paralympics."

Endo: "I've been practicing as much as I can every day."

Endo said, "Last year I was 3rd, and I've been practicing as much as I can this year with the intention of aiming for a higher ranking. I think it's the result of my practice. I was able to win my first victory with the support of my family and staff." I looked back.



On top of that, she said, "I think I'll just put out what I can do as a performance on the court. I'll be happy if I can participate in the Paris Paralympic Games and get good results."