The international goalball competition, a ball game for parasports, opened in Tokyo, and the Japanese women's team defeated the United States, a powerhouse that won the silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.
Goalball is a sport in which teams of three players with visual impairment compete for points by alternately rolling a ball, relying on the sound of a belled ball. It has started.
Four teams participated in the tournament: Japan, which won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, the United States, which won the silver medal at the Tokyo Games, and South Korea and France.
In the match between Japan and the United States, 20-year-old Arai Minami, who made her debut as a member of the Japan national team, scored the opening goal in the second half with a bouncing ball.
After that, Japan gave a penalty throw to the opponent for a foul and returned one point, but Arai used a bounce ball again to break down the opponent's defense, and after winning the match, he escaped and won 2-1.
In addition, in the match against South Korea, ranked 16th in the world, who defeated Japan in the quarterfinals of the World Championship last year and qualified for the Paris Games, ace Noriyoshi Hagiwara performed sharp speedballs and high bounces. Japan won the match 5-1 with a variety of attacks and 4 goals.
Furthermore, Japan beat France, ranked 20th in the world, by a score of 9-2, winning 3 games in a row and finishing first in the qualifying league.
The final will be held on the 12th.
Arai "Score against the United States, gain confidence"
Minami Arai, who made her first appearance for the Japanese national team and scored two goals in the match against the United States, commented, "I decided to start playing boccia after seeing the performance of the Japanese national team at the Tokyo Paralympics. I knew I could score against the United States. I didn't expect it, so I was happy. It gave me confidence," he said with a smile.
Hagiwara "I want to win the right to participate as a team"
Noriyoshi Hagiwara commented, “My number one goal was to win against South Korea, so I’m glad I was able to win. This year, I want to work together as a team and win the right to participate."