The moment the match was decided, emotions overflowed.
On August 2, the bronze medal match in badminton mixed doubles took place, where Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino secured the first consecutive podium finish in Japanese badminton history by winning the bronze medal.
After taking the first game, as they entered the second game into deuce, when the 22nd point was scored, Higashino collapsed onto the court, and Watanabe knelt down, clenching both fists tightly, then laid down on the court.
As they got up, both embraced each other in celebration. There were tears in Higashino’s eyes.
The scene reminded everyone once again of the strength and journey that Watanabe and Higashino had built together. It was not just one person, but two, which made their achievement possible.
The miracle created by a pair of ‘leftovers’
The starting point for Watanabe and Higashino dates back to their junior high school days. The two seniors and juniors from Tomioka First Junior High School formed a pair for the first time when Higashino was in her third year and Watanabe in his second year during a badminton club overseas expedition. They participated in a mixed doubles tournament together.
It was “by chance”.
“You know how pairs are usually formed with strong players, right? We were the last two announced by the coach, so we were the ‘leftovers’ (laughs). We didn’t even practice; it was pretty much on-the-spot,” Higashino recounted.
However, they unexpectedly achieved excellent results.
“I thought we could smoothly rotate without any unnecessary movements,” Higashino expressed.
Watanabe also reflected on that time.
“We clicked from the very beginning.”
But they can’t analyze why they were in sync. Higashino describes it as “a miracle.”
However, miracles only happen once if nothing is done. The turning point for the two was in 2018, learning from their coach Jeremy Gan.