The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Satomi shrugs off pressure as world champ to take gold
At the moment she became a Paralympic gold medalist, Sarina Satomi clenched her left fist in celebration. Before she knew it, tears of joy were flowing. “I am so happy, I can’t believe it,” Satomi said. “It’s like a dream. I battled for this day, for this moment.”
By winning the women’s singles WH1 class for wheelchair users on Saturday, Satomi earned a place among the historic first gold medalists in badminton, which was added to the Paralympic program for the first time at the Tokyo Games.
In the final at Yoyogi National Gymnasium, the 23-year-old Satomi rallied to a 2-1 victory over Thai veteran Sujirat Pookkham, a rival she had long admired.
The Thai, using a mix of accurate long and short shots, took the first game 2114. “I became too timid,” Satomi said.
The outlook did not get much better in the second game, when Satomi dropped nine straight points and fell behind 15-18. But she shrugged it off, determined to turn the tide.
“I had to do it. I kept encouraging myself, and that raised my spirits,” she said.
Satomi reeled off five straight points, bringing her energy to the forefront by letting out a scream after each one.
She won the game 21-19, and then carried the momentum into the third and decisive game, which she took 21-13.
Satomi’s life was changed when a spinal injury in an auto accident in May 2016 put her in a wheelchair. She was a third-year high school student at the time.
Encouraged by her father, she took up wheelchair badminton the following
year and, with each practice, mastered the intricate operation of the chair. Before she knew it, she was competing in international tournaments.
Satomi reached the pinnacle of the sport at the 2019 world championships, where she won the gold medal by defeating Sujirat in the final. That victory put a target on her back as the favorite at the Tokyo Paralympics, causing her concerns.
At times of doubt, she would recall the words of national team coach Takahiro Furuya. “You are the only one with that view [from the top],” he said, which flipped a switch in her as the Tokyo Games approached.
Prior to the accident, Satomi was just a normal high school student with a part-time job to which she devoted her time.
On Saturday, she was on the top step of the medal podium, a gold medal hanging from her neck and listening to the national anthem being played in her honor.
“It’s a place I never could have imagined myself when I was an able-bodied person,” Satomi said. “From now, I want to have a life where I can believe it was good that I am in a wheelchair.
“Winning at the Paralympics is one thing to make me believe it.” (Sept. 6)