Japan loses Osaka, the icon that lit the cauldron

Japan lost its icon. Naomi osaka, the athlete who lit the olympic cauldron last friday, fell in the round of 16 at the Ariake Center against Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 and 6-4 in 1: 08h. The Japanese woman, 23 years old and champion of four Grand Slams, was on the hypothetical path of Paula Badosa in quarters, which is now ranked by the Czech (42nd in the world).

Osaka lost the match with 32 unforced errors and 1/5 break balls and a chance to return to his 'adopted' country the gift of carrying the torch. in the last relay. The introverted tennis player has lived in the United States since she was two years old, where her parents (he Haitian, she Japanese) emigrated because of racism. “Definitely, I have not been able to face the pressure,” he admitted to journalists, many disgruntled Japanese, twenty minutes after the press officials announced that he had left the venue.

The highest paid athlete in the world, a magnet for brands in the Asian market, had reappeared in front of Zeng 56 days after leaving Roland Garros, where he refused to speak to the media generating a stir. Later, he revealed that he had suffered a two-year depression and that the public exposure in the continuous press conferences of the circuit generated anxiety. Then he resigned from Wimbledon. Now, he did not want to confirm if he will play the US Open. “I am happy again,” he synthesized after returning to the Olympic tournament. A joy that, on the track, has been short-lived.