After missing the Rio Olympics and Tokyo Olympics, and even being kicked out of the Japanese national team, the 27-year-old Ohori Aya finally made her first Olympic appearance in her career. Recently, this goddess with a cool temperament and beautiful face accepted an exclusive interview with Japanese media.
Aya Ohori was born into a badminton family. Her father, mother and sister are all badminton players. Her father, Hitoshi Ohori, is the badminton coach of Takaoka High School in Fukushima Prefecture and has trained the famous player Kento Momota. Aya Ohori also graduated from Tomioka High School and is still receiving personal guidance from her father. She won two consecutive All Japan Youth Championships in high school; at the age of 17, she won the Asian Youth Championship women’s singles championship, becoming the first Japanese Asian Youth Championship women’s singles champion; in the same year, she won the women’s singles runner-up in the World Youth Championship.
However, Ohori Aya has been suppressed by Yamaguchi Akane and Okuhara Nozomi since she was a teenager. At the 2012 World Youth Championships, the 17-year-old Okuhara Nozomi won the women’s singles gold medal, the 15-year-old Yamaguchi Akane won the silver medal, and the 16-year-old Ohori Aya was the bronze medalist. In 2021, Ohori Aya was kicked out of the Japanese national team A team for a year due to a serious decline in performance, and her opportunities to participate in the competition also decreased sharply.
“During that dark moment, I thought about retiring. Looking back now, that was the most painful moment.” Ohori Aya, who had been suppressed for a long time, finally saw a turning point in 2023. She won the bronze medal in the women’s singles badminton at the Asian Games and made history.
What made Ohori Aya come to her senses? Ohori Aya said that since being kicked out of Team A, she has played every game as if it were her last game in her career. “I have nothing to lose, so I performed better.”
After winning the 2024 Thailand Masters, Ohori Aya’s father patted her on the head to encourage her
“Every game is the last one.” With this awareness, Ohori Aya has made rapid progress in the past year.
“I can catch the ball that I couldn’t catch before, and my steps are steady. I have reached the bottom, and it is impossible to be worse than the current situation, so on the bright side, I should cheer up and work harder.”
Ohori Aya also won two gold medals at this year’s Super 300 Thailand Masters and Super 500 Australian Open, achieving a breakthrough in her career. In half a year, she improved her Olympic points ranking by 15 places, surpassing Okuhara Nozomi and qualifying for the Olympics together with Akane Yamaguchi.
Watch the video
Update date:2024-02-02
In the quarter-finals of the 2024 Thailand Badminton Masters, Ohori Aya 2-1 (15-21, 22-20, 21-18) over Nozomi Okuhara. Highlights.
The decisive battle was the 1/8 finals of the Thailand Masters in February this year. Ohori Aya saved two match points in the second game and eventually reversed Okuhara Nozomi 2-1 (15-21, 22-20, 21-18). This allowed Ohori Aya to maintain her lead in the Olympic points and strengthened her confidence. “This is a 1v1 duel. God will let the winner participate in the Olympics.”
Ohori Aya lamented that she was born in an era when there are many strong women’s singles players. She has been chasing after the strong ones and finally found her true self. Everything is fate.
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2024-06-29 15:18:30
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