<p>Ahmedabad: At first glance, 16-year-old Mana Ishikawa doesn’t strike an imposing figure. Petite and soft-spoken, she could easily be mistaken for just another high schooler in the stands. But slip her into the pool, and Ishikawa transforms into a powerhouse. At the Asian Aquatics Championships, the teenager turned heads with two golds and two silvers, easily emerging as Japan’s brightest star.</p>.<p>Turns out, she wasn’t alone. Japan’s contingent was stacked with teenagers, many of them making their debut at a senior-level international meet. While China ran away with the top spot, Japan still bagged 18 medals, including five golds, to finish second. But ask head coach Kazuhiro Ooyanagi, and you’ll find that the final tally wasn’t the point at all.</p>.<p>“Our objective was to give the young generation the exposure of an international-level tournament like Asian Championships,” Ooyanagi tells <em>DH</em>. “The point is not to win many medals here but to build our team for the next Olympics as this was our first step towards it.”</p>.<p>It’s a strategy born out of necessity. Japan’s swimmers had a forgettable outing at the Paris Olympics last year, where they managed just a single silver medal. Compare that to Tokyo 2021 (two golds and a silver) or Rio 2016, where they returned with seven medals including two golds, and the decline is clear.</p>.India must prepare to host Olympics, figure in top 10 sporting nations in a decade: Mandaviya.<p>Historically, Japan has been one of the strongest swimming nations, with 84 Olympic medals, including 24 gold. 2028 Los Angeles will also carry extra symbolism: It marks a century since Japan won its first-ever Olympic gold in swimming.</p>.<p>That long history is rooted in culture as much as competition. For most Japanese kids, the pool is as familiar as the classroom. Swimming lessons often start before they can even form memories.</p>.<p>“I started swimming when I was just a year old,” Ishikawa said with a laugh. “I don’t have any memory of that, I can only recall my swimming days perhaps when I was five or six years old but I always enjoyed swimming like many of my friends do.”</p>.<p>And while Ishikawa collected medals with apparent ease, her team-mate Iori Miyazaki got a taste of the deep end, literally. The 16-year-old boy lined up against China’s reigning world champion Qin Haiyang in the 200m backstroke final. Qin blew away the field, winning by more than three seconds, but Miyazaki still held on for silver.</p>.<p>“I feel I had the pace but I couldn’t match his physicality,” Miyazaki admitted. “But I am still growing up and will love to catch him up, hopefully at the next Olympics.”</p>.<p>That’s exactly the kind of fire Ooyanagi hoped this trip would spark. The medals were nice, but the real win was in showing his young swimmers the level they need to reach.</p>.<p>“At this age, they normally would only compete in Japan or even if they do outside, they would only compete in age-group events. However, many of them are very talented and have the ability to be among the top swimmers in the world, this event showed them how a top-level athlete trains,” concluded the coach.</p>
<p>Ahmedabad: At first glance, 16-year-old Mana Ishikawa doesn’t strike an imposing figure. Petite and soft-spoken, she could easily be mistaken for just another high schooler in the stands. But slip her into the pool, and Ishikawa transforms into a powerhouse. At the Asian Aquatics Championships, the teenager turned heads with two golds and two silvers, easily emerging as Japan’s brightest star.</p>.<p>Turns out, she wasn’t alone. Japan’s contingent was stacked with teenagers, many of them making their debut at a senior-level international meet. While China ran away with the top spot, Japan still bagged 18 medals, including five golds, to finish second. But ask head coach Kazuhiro Ooyanagi, and you’ll find that the final tally wasn’t the point at all.</p>.<p>“Our objective was to give the young generation the exposure of an international-level tournament like Asian Championships,” Ooyanagi tells <em>DH</em>. “The point is not to win many medals here but to build our team for the next Olympics as this was our first step towards it.”</p>.<p>It’s a strategy born out of necessity. Japan’s swimmers had a forgettable outing at the Paris Olympics last year, where they managed just a single silver medal. Compare that to Tokyo 2021 (two golds and a silver) or Rio 2016, where they returned with seven medals including two golds, and the decline is clear.</p>.India must prepare to host Olympics, figure in top 10 sporting nations in a decade: Mandaviya.<p>Historically, Japan has been one of the strongest swimming nations, with 84 Olympic medals, including 24 gold. 2028 Los Angeles will also carry extra symbolism: It marks a century since Japan won its first-ever Olympic gold in swimming.</p>.<p>That long history is rooted in culture as much as competition. For most Japanese kids, the pool is as familiar as the classroom. Swimming lessons often start before they can even form memories.</p>.<p>“I started swimming when I was just a year old,” Ishikawa said with a laugh. “I don’t have any memory of that, I can only recall my swimming days perhaps when I was five or six years old but I always enjoyed swimming like many of my friends do.”</p>.<p>And while Ishikawa collected medals with apparent ease, her team-mate Iori Miyazaki got a taste of the deep end, literally. The 16-year-old boy lined up against China’s reigning world champion Qin Haiyang in the 200m backstroke final. Qin blew away the field, winning by more than three seconds, but Miyazaki still held on for silver.</p>.<p>“I feel I had the pace but I couldn’t match his physicality,” Miyazaki admitted. “But I am still growing up and will love to catch him up, hopefully at the next Olympics.”</p>.<p>That’s exactly the kind of fire Ooyanagi hoped this trip would spark. The medals were nice, but the real win was in showing his young swimmers the level they need to reach.</p>.<p>“At this age, they normally would only compete in Japan or even if they do outside, they would only compete in age-group events. However, many of them are very talented and have the ability to be among the top swimmers in the world, this event showed them how a top-level athlete trains,” concluded the coach.</p>
