Japanese Athletes Begin Arriving for Paris Olympics; Table Tennis Players Making Final Preparations Before Heading to Athletes’ Village

By Tsukasa Sano / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

16:04 JST, July 19, 2024

PARIS — A group of Japanese athletes that will be competing at the Summer Olympics arrived in Paris on Thursday.

“The Games will start very soon, and I’m feeling that,” said women’s table tennis ace Hina Hayata, 24.

“I hope I can give 100% to the matches,” Hayata said, after landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport in a Paris suburb.

The flight took more than 10 hours from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, but the athletes were all smiles.

“It’s going to be the first time for me to compete at an Olympics abroad and with spectators,” said men’s table tennis player Tomokazu Harimoto, 21, who will be competing in his second consecutive Games. “It’ll be important for me to stay calm, like I usually do, when playing.”

The table tennis athletes will make their final preparations at a training camp before heading to the athletes’ village for the Games.

The first portion of the Japanese contingent checked in at the village on Thursday, the day the athletes’ village officially opened. The group comprised about 45 athletes, coaches and other staff from various sports, including boxing and rugby sevens.

“I’m really looking forward to life in the athletes’ village,” said Sewonrets Okazawa, 28, a boxer who will compete in the men’s 71-kilogram-class. “I’d like to do my best in preparing for the matches.”