Japan prepares in the Ajinomoto Training Centre for the Paris Olympics

Team Japan are in the 3rd preparation camp for the Paris Olympic Games in the Ajinomoto Training Centre in Tokyo. Their World Champion and Asian Games winner Sewon Okazawa has strong medal hopes at the men’s light middleweight (71kg) in Paris.

Mr. Vladimir Shin, Mr. Hirokuni Moto, Mr. Toshiya Aratake, Mr. Yuji Oyamada, Mr. Naoto Ichikawa and Mr. Masuaki Takeda are the coaches who control the work and the preparations in the Ajinomoto Training Centre.

Japan’s surprise boxer Shudai Harada (men’s 57kg) and Sewon Okazawa (men’s 71kg) have already qualified for the Paris Olympics through the Asian Games but the strong boxing country was not able to increase the number of the spots in the 1st World Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event.

Japan selected five women and three men boxers to the upcoming 2nd World Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event in Bangkok but their boxers did not earn any spots in Thailand’s capital and the country can send only two hopefuls to Paris. Their Asian Women’s Champion Rinka Kinoshita and the World Champion Tomoya Tsuboi both have to miss the Olympic Games due to the failed qualification process.

Japan claimed three medals including one gold in the recent Olympic Games in Tokyo but their gold medallist Sena Irie retired from the active sport and the other two stars are not members of their current national squads.

Miyazaki’s Shion Nishiyama almost qualified for Paris through the 1st World Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event but he failed to win his last bout in Busto Arsizio. The light welterweight (63.5kg) boxer is in the training camp to support the preparation of the two qualified Japanese athletes.

Japan Self-Defence Forces’ Masahiro Tomita, Ehime Prefecture’s Go Wakaya and Mie Prefecture’s Daigo Sunaga are the further three boxers in the training camp in Tokyo to make sparring sessions with Harada and Okazawa.

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