Connect with us

Sports

Father-son duo makes history: Five-time Asian Games champion Shigenobu Murofushi and Olympic gold medallist son Koji light cauldron in Aichi-Nagoya | Asian Games 2026 News

Published

on

Father-son duo makes history: Five-time Asian Games champion Shigenobu Murofushi and Olympic gold medallist son Koji light cauldron in Aichi-Nagoya
Father Shigenobu Murofushi and son Koji Murofushi (Reuters Photo)

A father and son who built their legacy in hammer throw shared one of the biggest moments of the Asian Games opening ceremony on Saturday.Japan’s Shigenobu Murofushi and his son Koji Murofushi jointly lit the cauldron at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, bringing the torch relay to a memorable end.Both Shigenobu and Koji are former Asian Games champions in hammer throw. The duo climbed the stairs to the podium together before lighting the cauldron.The ceremony featured dance, music and fireworks as the Asian Games officially opened in Aichi-Nagoya.

From Olympic champion to father-son moment

The cauldron lighting was the final part of a relay involving some of Japan’s biggest sporting names.Women’s wrestler Fujinami Akari brought the torch into the stadium before passing it to four-time Olympic swimming champion Kitajima Kosuke.The torch then went to Ito Koji, a three-time gold medallist in athletics at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games. Takahashi Ayaka, the 2016 Rio Olympics badminton women’s doubles champion, was next.

Embed-Murofushi--son-dad-19

Shigenobu Murofushi and Koji Murofushi (Reuters Photo)

The torch was then handed to Koji Murofushi, the 2004 Athens Olympics hammer throw champion.The final torchbearer was his father, Shigenobu Murofushi, who won the Asian Games hammer throw title five times in a row.The two then came together to light the cauldron, which had a metallic design inspired by the shape of a heart.

Advertisement

Who is Shigenobu Murofushi?

Shigenobu Murofushi is one of Japan’s most successful hammer throwers. He competed at three Olympic Games — Munich 1972, Montreal 1976 and Los Angeles 1984.He also served as Japan’s flag-bearer at the 1984 Olympics.Murofushi initially tried sumo and shot put before taking up hammer throw. In 1984, he set a Japanese record of 75.96m. That mark remained the national record until his son Koji broke it in 1998.Shigenobu won the Asian Games hammer throw gold medal in 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982 and 1986. He also won silver in 1966.His Asian Games medal record includes five gold medals and one silver.He also won gold at the 1979 and 1981 Asian Championships.

Shigenobu’s Olympic journey

While Shigenobu dominated the Asian Games, an Olympic medal remained out of reach.He finished eighth at the 1972 Munich Olympics, 11th at Montreal 1976 and 15th at Los Angeles 1984.His son would later achieve what he could not at the Olympics.

Advertisement

Koji Murofushi followed his father’s footsteps

Koji started hammer throw at the age of 10 under the guidance of his father.He went on to become one of the leading hammer throwers in the world. Koji won the silver medal at the 2001 World Championships before claiming bronze in 2003.His biggest Olympic moment came at the 2004 Athens Games, where he won the hammer throw gold medal.He added an Olympic bronze at the 2012 London Games.Koji also became world champion in 2011 in Daegu.

Embed-Murofushi--son-dad2-1

Shigenobu Murofushi and Koji Murofushi (Reuters Photo)

Advertisement

Koji’s Asian Games medal record

Koji continued his family’s success at the Asian Games.He won gold in hammer throw at Bangkok in 1998 and Busan in 2002. He had earlier won silver at Hiroshima in 1994.His Asian Games record therefore includes two gold medals and one silver.Koji also won gold at the 2002 Asian Championships and three silver medals at the continental championships in 1993, 1995 and 1998.

A family legacy comes full circle

The Murofushis have now added another special chapter to their long sporting legacy.Shigenobu dominated the Asian Games in the 1970s and 1980s. Koji followed him into the event and later became an Olympic and world champion.On Saturday, the father and son stood together at the centre of the Asian Games opening ceremony — not to compete, but to light the flame that officially began the Games.

Advertisement

Glittering opening ceremony

The 20th Asian Games officially began in Nagoya with a two-hour opening ceremony at the Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium. Japan’s Emperor Naruhito officially declared the Games open. Empress Masako, members of the Japanese imperial family, Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani and International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry were also present at the ceremony.The event started with the Japanese national anthem and the raising of the national flag. Nine members of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces carried the flag to the stage before it was hoisted.The stadium was then turned dark, with a spotlight focused on the Japanese flag.The ceremony was followed by the parade of athletes. Teams from 45 nations and regions took part, along with the OCA Refugee Team, taking the total number of participating delegations to 46.

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Sports

Super League play-off eliminator: Warrington Wolves 35-12 Hull KR

Published

on

Defeat brought Peters’ successful reign as Rovers coach to an end, as he leaves to join new NRL franchise PNG Chiefs next season, and his team produced an underwhelming display which reflected their inconsistent season.

They finished eight points behind the Wolves in the Super League table and that gap was evident as Burgess’s early fumble gifted Currie a try under the posts, with Ewan Irwin converting and then adding a penalty as Sam Burgess’s side dominated.

The Robins briefly showed the style which brought them last season’s Super League title, the League Leaders’ Shield and Challenge Cup as Arthur Mourgue broke from close to his own line and Joe Burgess was in support to score a try that took them within two points.

Wire’s response was instant as they carved open the Robins’ right flank and Ashton finished for his 100th Super League try, although Rovers fans still had belief that their side could turn it around in the second half.

Advertisement

Those hopes evaporated as Hiku stupidly thrust his closed fist in the face of a startled Williams, and a video review deemed it to be a red card offence.

Rovers continued to battle as Karl Lawton thrust his foot under the ball to prevent a Josh Thewlis try and Hadley went up the other end to take the 12 men to within four points.

Hadley seemed set to level the scores as he strode for the posts but James Bentley stole the ball and broke, and when the pacy Ashton got up in support, there was only going to be one outcome as he claimed his third of the night.

That deflated a resurgent Robins side and Hopoate produced a spectacular acrobatic finish, Williams added a one-pointer and King said farewell to the Halliwell Jones Stadium on his final home appearance before joining London Broncos with a late try to round off a comprehensive win.

Advertisement

Warrington: Josh Thewlis; Hopoate, Lindop, King, Ashton; Williams, Irwin; Byrne, Walker, Harrison, Stone, Bentley, Currie

Interchanges: Yates, Hayes, Philbin, Tanginoa

Hull KR: Mourgue; Davies, Hiku, Gildart, Burgess; Lewis, May; Sue, Litten, Hadley, Whitbread, Batchelor, Minchella

Interchanges: Amone, Broadbent, Luckley, Lawton

Advertisement

Sent off: Hiku (42)

Referee: Aaron Moore.

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Leander Paes Backs IGPL’s Global Vision, Hails Yuvraj Singh’s Role

Published

on




In a professional career spanning nearly three decades, Indian tennis great Leander Paes won 18 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic medal. Speaking at the launch event of the new season of the NDTV-AM Green IGPL Golf Pro-Am, Paes reflected on the longevity of his career and the factors behind his trophy-laden journey during a chat with NDTV Executive Editor (Sports) Gaurav Gala. Leander said his driving ambition was always to win an Olympic medal for India and prove that Indians could excel on the world stage in any sport.

“I think it’s passion and I think it’s fun. I grew up with parents who built their own legacy, so my focus in life was always to prove that Indians can be world champions at anything. For me, winning an Olympic medal for India meant more than anything else. As a child, I grew up polishing my father’s Olympic medal and dreaming of creating something similar for my country,” said Leander.

“When you win an Olympic medal for the first time, people call it a fluke. When you do it again, they ask, ‘Can you do it once more?’ That’s what motivated me throughout my career.”

Advertisement

Paes, however, admitted that he was fortunate to share the global stage with some of the biggest names in world tennis.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to play alongside some of the greatest partners in the world, from Martina Navratilova and Martina Hingis to my Indian partner Mahesh Bhupathi. No matter who I played with, the goal remained the same: to prove that Indians can be world champions,” he added.

“Proving that Indians can compete with and beat the best in the world has always been my biggest motivation.”

Led by Leander Paes’ vision of grassroots development, wellness and elite performance, his venture, Flying Man Ventures, has come on board as the franchise owner of the Kolkata leg of the IGPL. Speaking about the initiative, Leander credited former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh, one of the league’s founding members, for helping expand the IGPL’s footprint beyond India and giving it a truly global identity.

Advertisement

“First of all, I want to thank the AM-Green IGPL and Yuvi Paaji for helping build this incredible platform. For me, sport is one of the greatest vehicles to educate and empower young people. India has the largest youth population in the world, and empowering more than 250 million children has always been a passion of mine. IGPL gives golfing legends and young players an opportunity to compete while also taking the sport closer to the community.”

“IGPL is a fantastic league because it has a truly global vision. While many of the tournaments are held in India, we are also expanding internationally. We start in Ras Al Khaimah tomorrow, and I think the format has tremendous potential to grow the game and inspire the next generation of golfers.”


Featured Video Of The Day


India Ends CWG Boxing Campaign With Record-Breaking Seven Gold Medals

Advertisement

Topics mentioned in this article

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

51-year-old star calls out bad WWE creative for Roman Reigns

Published

on

A 51-year-old star has slammed WWE for saddling Roman Reigns with bad creative. The Head of the Table was in action this week on RAW and was successful in the defense of his World Heavyweight Championship against Penta.

Reigns has really come into his own with his Tribal Chief persona and established himself as one of the biggest stars of the promotion, who is adored by the fans. This is a far cry from the days when the company first pushed him to the top over a decade ago.

Despite being presented as a babyface, he was heavily booed, and his character often came across as trying too hard to be the good guy. Speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the tag team legend assessed whether Reigns was ready for the top spot back in 2015-2016.

Advertisement

Hardy said he doubts whether he was equipped to handle the role but said WWE had already made up its mind about pushing him. He said while they eventually were successful, his early run as the Big Dog was hampered by the creative he was given.

“I do think some of the creative he had was real bad. Like you said, the dog food thing, especially for a character that is meant to be very serious and be like a main eventer, the top guy, the draw, the sell. He had his moments where it was good, but I do think there were a lot of times he was saddled with some bad creative. Maybe even bad lines,” he said.

Matt Hardy recalled the infamous “suffering succotash” promo by Roman Reigns and said that his character didn’t need to be comic relief but a serious star.

“That isn’t what you need out of that guy. His job isn’t humor relief. His job is to go out there and be this good-looking, hot guy that all the chicks love, and then all the dudes like, ‘This guy’s badass because he can kick anybody’s a**. That’s what you need to believe. You don’t need him going out there and doing stand-up comedy,” he added.

youtube-cover

JBL says Roman Reigns does not need to wrestle on TV every week

Roman Reigns’ World Championship match against Penta on RAW was his first match on WWE TV in over a year. The match lived up to its hype and delivered an instant classic.

Hall of Famer JBL talked about the contest on Something to Wrestle With. He said that the OTC1 has become a rare attraction, and that’s why whenever he wrestles on TV, it is a big deal.

Advertisement

JBL mentioned that this was part of the reason why his match with Penta was special. He argued that, given Roman Reigns’ status as a special attraction, he doesn’t need to wrestle every week on TV.


If you use quotes from this article, please credit Extreme Life of Matt Hardy and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.