A 17-year-old third-year high school student, Kano Miyaki (Shutoku, Tokyo) won her first championship. She achieved the first feat in high school since Uta Abe (2nd year at the time) in 2017.
In the semi-finals, she defeated Wakana Koga (Yamanashi Gakuin University), the winner of the Asian Championship (August). In the final, she got revenge on Rina Tachikawa (Fukuoka Prefectural Police) whom she had lost in the Kodokan Cup (October) final. She was pushed in the early stages, but she took it into overtime, and at the end, she robbed her of wazaari with a seoi nage.
Tachikawa defeated Natsumi Tsunoda (Ryotokuji Daishi), who won the world championship in October (Tashkent), in the semi-finals. Funan Tonaki (Park 24), a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics (Olympics) and a senior at Shutoku High School, was absent from the tournament this time, but he will reach the top among the leading players, and will welcome him at the age of 19. He showed the possibility of breaking into the representative battle to the Paris Olympics in 2024.
“Since I lost in the final of the Kodokan Cup, I thought it would be a waste if I didn’t do anything. I was able to express that well because he gave me the strength. Throughout the tournament, I got off to a slow start after being attacked and receiving two instructions, so I want to start early.”
He plans to go to Nihon University next spring and will study under Yuka Nishida (2010 World Championship gold medalist), who he admires. “I want to raise my level even more. My dream is to go to the Olympics and win the championship. I will do my best to aim for Paris. I wish I could chase you too.” While respecting the leading player, he made a fresh and vigorous bid for the national team.[Jun Kinoshita]
