By Takaki Tominaga,
Hidetaka Sugimura outshone his Thai rival Watcharaphon Vongsa to grab a gold medal at his home Paralympic Games, the first individual medal for Japan in the sport, on Wednesday night at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo.
Sugimura, 39, beat Watcharaphon, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic champion, 5-0 in the individual BC2 boccia tournament in the Japanese capital.
He scored two points in the first end, then added one each in the following three to complete the win.
"I hope this gold medal will be an opportunity for many people to find out about boccia," Sugimura said after the medal ceremony.
The Shizuoka Prefecture native has cerebral palsy and started playing boccia in 2001 when a teacher at his support facility for people with disabilities suggested he try it out.
His determination was demonstrated by the emotion he showed throughout the final. He could be heard shouting several times after making incredible throws from his wheelchair perch.
His coach, Mitsuteru Murakami, said after the match that Sugimura was able to recover well after making some mistakes.
It is an aspect of his game that Sugimura has worked hard on in practice, his coach said.
"His strong will (to win) and effort allowed him to outperform his opponent tonight," said Murakami.
Sugimura captained the Japanese team to a silver medal in the BC1/BC2 event at the previous Paralympic Games in Brazil but has not earned an individual podium at the games.
In the five years since the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics, Sugimura gave serious thought to all aspects of the game with his eye on a Tokyo gold.
"First, I took a hard look at my body and developed equipment, including a wheelchair and balls, which are the most suitable for myself in cooperation with people who support me," he said.
He also engaged in physical training to gain strength, a rare pursuit for players with cerebral palsy.
"He altered his throwing form and strengthened his trunk control after the Rio Games and that allows him to play the sport in a more energy-efficient manner," an official of the Japan Boccia Association said earlier.
Sugimura started playing boccia socially but he soon showed promise and made his national team debut at the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China, in 2010.
He finished third at the world championships in Liverpool, England, in 2018 in his class and ranks second in the World Boccia ranking for the individual BC2 class.
"Boccia gave me an opportunity to participate in social activities, going out and making connections with other people," Sugimura reflected.
When not playing boccia, he also works at nursing care facilities in his native city of Ito in central Japan.
"I hope that opportunities for people like myself will increase because of the (impact of the)Tokyo Paralympics," he said.
