With momentum growing for the Tokyo 2020 Games, now less than 300 days from its opening, sports organizations are making meticulous preparations to achieve good results.
The Japan women's handball team will compete in the Olympics for the first time in 44 years, following the 1976 Montreal Games. The team and its athletes have been working to enhance their physical capabilities, with the cooperation of Ajinomoto Co., which has supported Olympians mainly through the improvement of dietary habits.
Handball players are allowed to come into head-on physical contact with the person in possession of the ball, resulting in strenuous play. Taller, heavier athletes often have an advantage.
In terms of physical build, Japanese female handball players don't match up to those from European countries and South Korea, which is one of the strongest nations in the sport. This has been one reason why the Japanese national team couldn't excel in international competition.
After failing to secure a berth at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, the Japanese national handball team started taking steps to increase the number of players who have strongly built bodies and can move swiftly. Full-fledged efforts were begun by the women's national team to increase players' weight while capping their body-fat percentages.
Female handball players had previously been allowed to follow their own dietary habits, except during times when they were playing as members of the national team.
Now, candidates for the national team have to record details about their breakfast, lunch and dinner, and about their in-between eating to supplement nutrition before or after practices. They must also keep track of the details of their physical training and practices.
The main feature of the records is that every time players take in five grams of protein, they put a circle on sheets exclusively for that purpose. Protein is an essential component for strengthening the body.
Players have praised the approach, with one saying, "I want to put down as many circles as possible, so I enjoy making the effort."
Every Monday, players participating in the program use their smartphones to photograph their check sheets, on which details of their meals and other information are recorded, and send the images to Ajinomoto.
Ajinomoto officials advise each of the players about the content of her meals and changes in her weight. This program makes it easy for the players to continue their efforts to strengthen their physical capabilities, even during times when they are not active as national team members.
The average weight of the players covered by the program rose 2.2 kilograms over about two years from June 2017 to August this year. But it was not just a case of weight gain.
Though her measurements were taken during a different period, the weight of one player, after deducting body fat, increased from the 45 kilograms level to the 49 kilograms level. This means her muscles surely grew.
National team captain Nozomi Hara, 28, said: "I became conscious of increasing my intake of foodstuffs, such as eggs and yogurt, that contain a lot of protein but that I can eat without concern. Recently, when I eat meat, I deliberately choose chicken, which contains less fat. I want to increase my number of circles. I've been able to make the effort like I'm playing a game."
The most important competition this year for the women's national team is the world championship to be held later in November in Kumamoto.
Mana Oyama, 26, is the team's back player, responsible for controlling the overall match. "I think we'll be fatigued in the latter half, after we've had a lot of matches. I want to build up more muscle so I can exert my power at that time."
In an international match in September, the national team tied 26-26 with Brazil's national team, which won the world championship in 2013. The Japanese national team is beginning to be able to compete in matches without being overwhelmed by foreign players' power.
For the big matches that the team will continue to face from now on, the players are keeping up with their efforts outside sport venues as well.
Ajinomoto has a team of about 20 officials supporting Olympic athletes in various sports who want to strengthen their bodies. The officials have provided careful behind-the-scenes support for the athletes in such situations as training camps in Japan and match tours to Europe.
The officials visit the athletes' regular teams to confirm what kinds of meals they have every day, and give them detailed advice such as "add tofu or canned fish meat to soups," "always carry fish sausages," and "steamed or smoked chicken can also be bought in overseas supermarkets."
"Initially, there were athletes who were reluctant to increase their weight. But now, all the athletes proactively participate," said Haruka Suzuki, a managerial dietitian at Ajinomoto.
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