Japan’s gymnastics team in Paris will be strongest ever, says medallist Kazuma Kaya

TOKYO – Tokyo Olympic medallist Kazuma Kaya said Japan would field their strongest men’s gymnastics squad yet at Paris 2024, where his only goal is to win the team title to improve on the silver medal he helped nab at the last Games.

Kaya, on May 19, finished second in the NHK Trophy competition, which decided the nine Japanese men and women who will join men’s defending all-around champion Daiki Hashimoto in Paris.

“I still made some small mistakes here and there, and to win gold at the Olympics would require much more practice,” said Kaya, 27, who took the team gold at the world championships with Hashimoto last October.

“I’ve been working towards winning a gold medal at the Olympics since I started gymnastics. That hasn’t changed an inch. We’re going to have the strongest Team Japan there ever was.”

The NHK Trophy men’s all-around title went to Shinnosuke Oka, 20, who will be competing in his first Olympics. Joining the three in the team will be Takaaki Sugino and Tokyo team silver medallist Wataru Tanigawa.

Hashimoto, a favourite to defend his Olympic title, was out for the NHK Trophy, held in Takasaki, having injured a finger while practising a week earlier.

On the women’s side a day earlier, 19-year-old Shoko Miyata secured her Paris berth with her third consecutive NHK Trophy.

“I had hoped for a performance that I could be more satisfied with, but I’ll leave that for Paris. There were good years and bad years (on the road to Paris), but I’ll make sure that this year definitely ends up being a good one,” she said, admitting she had competed with some concerns about a pre-tournament injury.

Joining her will be Rina Kishi, Mana Okamura, Haruka Nakamura and Kohane Ushioku. All five teenagers will be competing in their first Olympics.

Artistic gymnastics is one of the most popular sports at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which will take place from July 26 to August 11.

In Hartford, Connecticut, Simone Biles launched her 2024 season with an impressive victory at USA Gymnastics’ Core Hydration Classic on May 18, lifting the all-around title with a total of 59.5 points.

It was Biles’ best all-around total since she returned to competition in 2023 for the first time following her abbreviated Tokyo Olympics campaign.

“I was just happy to be back out there, get through those nerves again, feel that adrenaline,” said the four-gold Olympic medallist, who has five moves named after her.

The 27-year-old finished 1.85 points in front of two-time world team champion Shilese Jones, who like Biles is building towards the US championships and Olympic trials to determine the five-woman team for the Paris Games.

Biles topped the scores on two of four apparatus – floor exercise and vault.

Meanwhile, three-time Olympic gold medallist Gabby Douglas fell twice from the asymmetric bars in the US Classic on May 18 and withdrew from the event.

The 2012 Olympic all-around and team champion struggled in the opening rotation and later left the arena. The withdrawal means the 28-year-old will fail to qualify for the all-around at the US Championships.

Douglas had already qualified in three apparatuses for the competition, which begins on May 30.

“She is not eligible to petition to compete on all four apparatus because she previously earned an all-around score at April’s American Classic,” the Olympic website said of Douglas’ qualification. REUTERS, AFP