Some young female athletes were inspired and decided to take up athletics as their profession after meeting an Olympian Gold medalist, Naoko Takahashi in the capital, today.
The gold medalist, who hails from Japan, is widely known for a victory in the women’s marathon at Olympic Games, held in Australia, in 2000. Her purpose of visiting the country is to see the status of athletics.
Meeting with the young Bhutanese athletes, Naoko Takahashi said the focus must be on one and not many, and nothing should deter them to achieve that one.
She said she is floored with the enthusiasm of Bhutanese athletes and believes they are capable enough to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
“But they need more time and the high altitude of the country helps the athletes to have a thorough practice. I will be happy if any of the athletes could take part in the Tokyo Olympic Games, 2020,” added Naoko Takahashi.
Some officials of the Bhutan Amateur Athletics Federation said the number of female athletes is already less and it further declines after the girls attain the age of 20. However, young female Bhutanese athletes are inspired by the Japanese Olympian Gold Medalist.
“I am really inspired by her. After knowing that she received the gold medal, I am motivated and now I want to focus more on my training and work harder to take part in 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games,” said an Athlete, Goma Pradhan.
Naoko Takahashi currently works as a sports reporter with Tokyo Broadcasting Service. And being a sportsman, her main passion lies in promoting sports not only in her homeland but also in many developing countries.
