It had all started so well for Naomi Osaka. Dressed in the colours of the Japanese flag, the tennis star was given the signal honour of lighting the cauldron in Friday’s opening ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics. She was presented as a symbol not only of Japan, but also of the Olympic movement’s self-proclaimed diverse and progressive philosophy. Yet her hopes of glory were extinguished just four days later after an error-strewn performance against world number 42 Markéta Vondroušová.
Her underwhelming Olympic adventure prompted words of sympathy from many. US gymnast Simone Biles, who had her own disappointment to deal with, cited Osaka as an ‘inspiration’, and the novelist Yuji Taida said, ‘You don’t need to win a medal. Watching you play is enough’. But there was plenty of sniping too. There were reports of booing among gatherings of Tokyoites as she appeared in the stadium as flame lighter (Rikako Ikee who had recovered from leukaemia to compete was the popular choice).
The Japanese, it seems, remain ambivalent about Naomi Osaka
The Japanese, it seems, remain ambivalent about Naomi Osaka, and unsure whether to treat her as one of their own.
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