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Kiyo Shimizu - Karate
With karate making its first Olympic debut in 2020, Kiyo Shimizu, popularly known as the Queen of Kata, shows great prospects in landing the sport's first-ever gold medal. The 25-year-old is on a mission to raise the martial arts' profile and has dedicated herself to mastering a technique, Chibana no Kushanku, in order to secure a win for Japan.
"I push myself to the edge in practice because of my wish to deliver a good karate demonstration," Shimizu had said in an interview.
Hailing from Osaka, Shimizu has a list of impressive wins to the name. In December 2017, she had won her fourth straight title in the women's individual kata at the Japan Cup Karatedo Championships, followed by a second consecutive crown in the same category at the World Senior Karatedo Championships.
Yuto Horigome - Skateboarding
Another new category making its way into the Olympics, skateboarding has a number of Japanese hopefuls in line for the top title, with Yuto Horigome among the most prominent. To date, the 'goofy-footed' Horigome holds second spot in the globally renowned World Skate Ranking (Street), which demonstrates his excellent skills as a professional skateboarder and his expert move, the Nollie 270 Switch Backside Tailslide.
The 20-year-old's passion for skateboard began at an early age, thanks to his father who taught him how to ride one. Since then, Horigome has been actively participating in competitions in the US, alongside international appearances in London, Munich and Barcelona. In his latest stint, Horigome nabbed the men's street title at the International Skateboarding Open in China, which qualified him for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Tomoa Narasaki - Sport Climbing
Ever since Sport Climbing was added to the list, Narasaki has been on the roster as an Olympic contender. Armed with experience since a tender age of 10, the youth has marched forth to secure the Bouldering World Championship and the Bouldering World Cup titles in 2016, followed by the recently held Bouldering World Cup this year. The 23-year-old Tochigi resident further won the IFSC Climbing World Championships title in Hachioji in both Combined and Men's Bouldering categories and fourth place in the Men's Lead category.
"I want to promote climbing in Japan and to strengthen it. More importantly, first I need to perform and get good results. So rather than telling and coaching, I think that it is important for me to show my ability. And I have kept working hard on my climbing," he had said in an interview.
Japan Olympic Museum open for visitors
In commemoration, the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) revealed an exclusive Museum near the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo to give visitors an interactive platform to learn about the 120-year history and significance of the Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the Olympic Movement.
The Japan Olympic Museum also features a monument area, which displays the renowned Olympic Rings symbol, alongside the Olympic Cauldrons (Tokyo 1964) and Winter Olympic Games Cauldrons (Sapporo 1972 and Nagano 1998).
Check out www.japan-olympicmuseum.jp/en to plan your visit.
-farhana@khaleejtimes.com
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