Among all the teams competing at the IFAF Asia Oceania Flag Football Championships in Malaysia, Japan boasts the most experience in international IFAF tournaments.
Japan’s women’s team advanced to the playoff round at last year’s World Games, losing narrowly to Austria in the quarterfinals and also exited the 2021 IFAF World Championships at the same stage, defeated by eventual gold medal winners the United States. The Japanese men finished 11th overall at the worlds in Israel.
At the inaugural continental tournament this weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Japan’s women are drawn in Group A against Australia, Indonesia, Korea and Thailand, with an opening game at 9.30am on Field 3 on Friday against Thailand. The men’s team face Australia, India, Kuwait, Philippines and Singapore in group A, with their opener also at 9.30am on Field 4 against Singapore.
Download the full schedule for the IFAF Asia Oceania Flag Football Championships here.Looking at some of the players on the women’s roster, quarterback Chihiro Iwata was a member of that World Games squad in Birmingham, Alabama, and at the 2022 JIC Tournament in Michigan and is expected to lead the team from under center for many years to come.
Tomoko Higuchi is a teacher by profession and has great speed and quickness, while Renka Saito feels the flow of the game and reacts instinctively.
The men’s team’s captain Ryosuke Uematsu tried out for Japan’s professional tackle league during the summer but was injured during the tryouts so travels to Malaysia as an assistant coach.
Masahiro Isono has been a member of the past three Japanese IFAF Flag Football World Championship national teams and hopes to add a fourth appearance when the event is held in Finland next year.
Takenori Awatani is the oldest player on the team at 40 years of age, and even though he commutes to work two hours each way, still finds time to put in the training necessary to keep in shape. He is a captain from 2018 to 2021 at international tournaments.
Yuta Nakagaki is another former captain (2018-2021) of the men’s team, who will bring valuable experience to Japan’s quest for the gold medal.
