Coronavirus pandemic
Japan rugby star ditches oval ball for stethoscope
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Kenki Fukuoka surging to score one of his four tries at last year's Rugby World Cup. He has pulled out of Japan's sevens squad for next year's Olympics to focus on his medical studies.
PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
TOKYO • Japan rugby star Kenki Fukuoka, likened to a Ferrari for his sheer pace at last year's World Cup, will not take part in the Tokyo Olympics next year as he is focusing on becoming a doctor.
The 27-year-old said on Sunday that he would withdraw from the national rugby sevens team because the training schedule would interfere with his medical studies.
The winger retired from the 15-a-side Brave Blossoms following their home World Cup last autumn but stayed on in sevens rugby.
He had planned to leave the national team after the Games, originally scheduled for next month but the unprecedented delay until next July because of the coronavirus pandemic made it impossible.
Fukuoka, who scored four tries and was a standout performer as hosts Japan made it to the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup for the first time, said: "I'd the strongest desire to live a life I wouldn't regret.
"I can see this decision as the cleanest way to do it. I can now take the time I would spend at training camp, and put it towards studying and preparing for my next career."
On the postponement, Fukuoka called it "fate" and claimed the pandemic had only sharpened his focus on becoming a doctor.
"Healthcare will always be needed," he added. "I feel that my desire to be needed has only grown stronger."
Fukuoka, however, still plans to play in the Top League, Japan's pro rugby competition, for the Panasonic Wild Knights when the new season starts in January.
The 2019-20 campaign was curtailed owing to the Covid-19 crisis.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS