By Hiroki Noda,
Issin Hishikawa won his first crown and Ayumi Fukushima claimed her third straight title at the Japanese national championships of breaking, also known as breakdancing, on Sunday.
Breaking will make its Olympic debut this summer in Paris, where Japanese b-boys and b-girls are expected to contend for medals. Performers usually go by their stage names.
The 18-year-old Issin defeated fellow teenager Hiroto "Hiro10" Ono 3-0 in the men's final after upsetting three-time champion Shigeyuki "Shigekix" Nakarai 2-1 in the semifinals at Tokyo's NHK Hall.
"I gave it my all against Shigekix," said Issin, who beat the 2023 world bronze medalist for the first time in his career. "In the final, I just made the best of what was left in my tank."
Shigekix, 21, has already clinched one of Japan's two Olympic spots for men's breaking.
Issin and Hiro10 will compete for one last spot in two overseas events, in Shanghai in May and Budapest in June.
"As the rounds progressed, the mood became more tense and exciting here," Shigekix said. "I did my best against Issin, and I have to say his explosiveness just got the better of me."
"I learned a lot from this competition. I'll try to use this great experience for the Olympics."
In the women's final, 40-year-old Ayumi managed a 2-1 win over Shigekix's older sister Ayane Nakarai.
"I'm happy to win the championship after executing dance moves I prepared for this event," Ayumi said. "But at the same time, I found so many things I had to work on. I'll train even harder from tomorrow."
At last year's world championships in Belgium, Fukushima lost to 16-year-old Dominika Banevic of Lithuania in the gold medal battle.
"We competed in front of many spectators, and that gave us extra energy," Ayumi said.
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