わがまち稲城2016 今井宗丈（いまいむねたけ）さん
Updated: October 11, 2016
Continuity gives us the strength to fight 77th All Japan Veteran Tennis Championship 2015 (over 50 doubles division) winner
Mr. Imai, who lives in the city and belongs to the Inagi City Tennis Federation, won the All-Japan Veteran Tennis Championship held by the Japan Tennis Association from September to October last year.
Veteran tennis is one of the categories within the association, divided into junior, professional, corporate, etc., and tournaments are held for players aged 35 to 75 and over, divided into five-year age groups. The competition that I participated in this time is the highest match in Japan, and the participation conditions are so strict that only 16 teams can participate from all over the country.
Mr. Imai, who participated in the tournament for the fifth time this time, looked back on the tournament and said, "This time, I was able to advance to victory with Mr. Sato as a pair." The secret to winning is to move your opponent around the court. Tennis is a sport where you lose by making a mistake, and he said that he has refined his techniques to move opponents around the court and score points.
It seems that he met Mr. Sato, who participated together, when he was in high school. We met again at a later tournament and were rivals at the time, but when I was 45 years old, I was invited to become a veteran tennis player, and we formed a pair.
Mr. Imai says that he started playing tennis when he was in elementary school and that he was able to continue until now because of the presence of "people". Recently, I've been practicing with people I met at previous competitions. With the understanding and support of his family, he has been able to build a tennis career of more than 40 years.
When asked about his goals for the future, he said, "I want to keep competing until I'm in my 60s, aim for the top 4 every year, and continue without getting injured."
I will continue to support Mr. Imai, who embodies the words "Continuity is power."
Inquiries about this page
Inagi City Planning Department Secretary Public Relations Division
2111 Higashi-Naganuma, Inagi-shi, Tokyo
Phone: 042-378-2111 Fax: 042-377-4781
