Sports for People with Disabilities: Consider Ways to Take Advantage of Athletes’ Achievements to Spread Appeal

Editorial

16:17 JST, September 28, 2025

Athletes have made distinctive achievements in sports for people with disabilities. It is hoped that this momentum will be used to promote such sports by making a wide range of people aware of their appeal.

By winning the men’s wheelchair singles title at the U.S. Open earlier this month, Tokito Oda became the youngest player, at the age of 19, to have accomplished the Career Golden Slam, which constitutes titles at all four major tennis championships and a gold medal at the Paralympics.

Among Japanese wheelchair tennis players, this feat followed that of Shingo Kunieda, who has retired from competition. Yui Kamiji has secured her third championship title in women’s wheelchair tennis at the U.S. Open. Japan’s dominance has been notable.

Masateru Yugami, a discus thrower with hearing loss, competed at the World Athletics Championships held in Tokyo this month. Yugami is a medalist at the Deaflympics, an international sports event for athletes who are deaf or hard of hearing. He has demonstrated his ability to compete on an equal footing with able-bodied athletes.

These performances are moving and give courage to many people. As seen in the All Japan Table Tennis Championships, some sports events create slots for athletes with physical disabilities, hearing difficulties or intellectual disabilities, allowing them to compete with able-bodied athletes.

After the U.S. Open final, Oda said: “I want to play matches like this on an even bigger stage. I’m confident people will enjoy the matches.” At the tournament, the wheelchair tennis finals were held on a court with a smaller spectator seating capacity compared to the finals for the able-bodied players.

One challenge is finding a way to raise public interest in para sports. It is desirable that more people regard such sports as one genre of sport, not as something different from sports for able-bodied athletes.

According to the Japan Sports Agency, only 32.8% of people with disabilities age 20 and older participated in sports activities in the past year. Despite their willingness, many people believe from the start that they cannot play sports due to their disabilities and lack of physical strength.

For people with disabilities who want to try playing sports after being inspired by such athletes’ performances, why not start with what they can do, even little by little?

Junichi Kawai, a blind Paralympic swimming gold medalist, is set to take up the post of Japan Sports Agency commissioner in October. “It is a sign of changing times that a Paralympian is taking on this kind of position,” he said. It is hoped that Kawai will lead the way to create a society in which everyone can enjoy sports.

In November, the Deaflympic Games will be held in Japan for the first time. Many athletes with hearing loss will be coming from various countries to compete primarily in Tokyo.

However, a survey conducted last year found that only 39% of respondents who live in Tokyo know about the Deaflympics. During the Deaflympic Games, competitions will be held in 21 sports such as athletics and swimming. Admission is free for all events except shooting, which will have no spectator area. It is hoped that people will take this opportunity to visit the competition venues and experience the appeal of these sports firsthand.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 28, 2025)