Judo player Natsumi Tsunoda tears up as she talks about her journey to the Paris Olympics gold medal… Badminton player Kento Momota will appear next time – Ameba News [アメーバニュース]

[Video]Judo player Natsumi Tsunoda says, “One more time is too tough” as she looks back on her life in judo and tears up.

Natsumi Tsunoda, who became the oldest Japanese women’s judo player to participate in the Olympics for the first time at the Paris Olympics, appeared on episode 9 of “NumberTV”. It has been revealed that badminton player Kento Momota, who announced his retirement from the Japanese national team, will appear in the next 10th episode.

■“NumberTV”: Athletes talk about their “biggest setbacks” that changed their lives

The program was created as a joint project between Docomo’s video distribution service Lemino and sports magazine Sports Graphic Number (Bungei Shunju), which has reported on numerous athlete dramas. This is an original documentary program exclusively distributed by Lemino, and will be exclusively distributed for free from July 25, 2024.

This is a real documentary in which the athletes themselves talk about the glorious “current status” of top athletes and the “setbacks” that led them to that point, featuring top athletes from various sports genres. We will delve deeply into the stories of each person’s “failure and comeback.” For all 24 broadcasts, Sota Fukushi will be the program navigator, and Creep Hype’s “Interview” will be the theme song.

■Judo player Natsumi Tsunoda talks about how she lost her sense of judo and how she won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics

The ninth episode of “NumberTV”, which began streaming on November 21st, features female judo player Tsunoda, who won the first gold medal for the Japanese team at the Paris Olympics.

“I believed that hard work would definitely pay off,” says Tsunoda. He has been practicing judo since he was young, and in high school, he placed 3rd in the 52kg class at the Inter-High School Championships. Although she achieved brilliant results during her university days, including winning two consecutive championships in the adult women’s division of the national polity, she was still unknown on the world stage. In order to make his dream of participating in the Olympics come true, Tsunoda continues to practice hard every day and make steady efforts.

However, after winning the silver medal at the 2017 World Championships, he became so anxious to meet the expectations of those around him that he began to feel overwhelmed by the pressure, stopped enjoying practice, and lost sight of his own style of judo. Eventually, the two words “retirement” began to cross his mind.

What saved Tsunoda from hitting rock bottom was Coach Imai, who had supported him for many years. “For the smiles of those who support us.” That encouragement stirred Tsunoda’s heart, and he decided to put aside his doubts, regain his judo, and change his weight class to 48kg. And the dream that could not be fulfilled at the Tokyo Olympics will be realized at the Paris Olympics. Winning the gold medal at the age of 31 was achieved through hard work and strong will.

“If I were asked to live this life again, it would be tough…” said Tsunoda, crying. What kind of setbacks did she face on her long journey to becoming the oldest Japanese women’s judo player to participate in the Olympics for the first time? To commemorate the distribution of the main story, which talks about the turning point in Tsunoda’s life that led her to face judo again, a giveaway campaign is being held in which two people will be entered into a lottery to win merchandise autographed by Natsumi Tsunoda.

■In episode 10, Kento Momota, the treasure of the badminton world, appears.

In the 10th episode, which will be broadcast on December 5th (Thursday), Momota, a treasure in the badminton world who has captivated the world, will appear. He won the World Junior Championship as a high school student and brought about a revolution in Japanese men’s badminton. He achieved numerous laurels, including winning the World Championship consecutively and being ranked number one in the world.

However, that path ended with an indefinite suspension due to illegal gambling in 2016. Things like the traffic accident in Malaysia in January 2020 were by no means smooth sailing. Even after suffering the humiliation of losing in the qualifying rounds at the Tokyo Olympics, he showed his strong will not to give up by winning back-to-back titles at the All Japan Badminton Tournament in 2022 and 2023.

Then, in April 2024, he announced his retirement from the Japanese national team, marking the end of that turbulent 10 years. The story of Momota, who continued to face hardships even in the midst of an uncertain future, will be told in the 10th episode of “NumberTV.”

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[Video]Judo player Natsumi Tsunoda tears up as she talks about her heart leading up to the Paris Olympics gold medal


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