Our Town Inagi 2017: Mr. Rintaro Ogawa

Soft Tennis - Champion in 2 Tournaments

Ogawa from Inagi Dai 7 Elementary School, a 6th grader, won both the individual and team competitions at the 7th East Japan Elementary School Selection Soft Tennis Tournament (July 2017), and also secured victory in the team competition at the 34th All Japan Elementary School Soft Tennis Championship (July 2017).
In May of this year, I participated in the Tokyo qualifying tournament and was selected as a representative of Tokyo after finishing as the runner-up, which led me to compete in these two tournaments. Soft tennis is primarily a doubles sport, and teamwork is very important. Since the fall of fifth grade, I have been partnering with my teammate, and we make an effort to encourage each other and cheer loudly. In the team competition, I sometimes paired with different partners, but Mr. Ogawa said he faced any pairing without hesitation, stating, "We have been practicing for three months with practice matches, so I was able to compete seamlessly with anyone I partnered with."
Mr. Ogawa has been playing soft tennis for two years, and the reason he started was a series of coincidences. While staying in Qatar due to his father's job, he participated in a short tennis course accompanying his older sister, where he discovered the joy of tennis. After returning to Japan, he happened to see the practice of the Inagi Junior Soft Tennis Club, which operates in the city, and was drawn to the coach's personality and the seriousness of the members, leading him to decide to join the club. He practices diligently with his friends every day.
Even after becoming a junior high school student, it seems that they will continue playing soft tennis in the junior high school club, and they said, "Once I become a junior high school student, I will be competing against strong upperclassmen, so I want to do my best to win."
In spring, they will be middle school students. Let's look forward to Ms. Ogawa's future activities and support her.