The first Touch tournament of the year was completed over the weekend, and one of Japan’s best players made an appearance amid his globe-trotting tour to coach, promote and play the game.
Japan player Hideaki Nara accepted an invitation from Chinese Taipei Touch Association president Ting Fan to join the Taipei-based Team Hukit at the Chinese Taipei Touch Tournament on Saturday and helped them claim the winner’s trophy.
Nara’s next destination is the Australian National League in Coffs Harbor, north of Sydney, from Wednesday to Friday next week.
Photo courtesy of Sean Carless
The step up in intensity is likely to be far greater than the change in the weather — going from an overcast Taipei to summer on Australia’s east coast should be nothing compared with the shift from playing against the fledgling squads who represented Taipei and Greater Taichung to mixing with many of the world’s top players in Australia’s premier domestic competition.
Not that the social nature of the Taipei Touch scene seemed to bother Nara, who goes by the nickname “Hitch” — inspired by the Will Smith movie of the same name — due to Australians and New Zealanders struggling to pronounce his name during his years spent in the two countries learning and playing Touch.
On Saturday, when he was not playing, he could be found chatting about the game, sharing advice with the mixture of players or snapping photos to go on his Web site, www.narahide.com. From Australia, he has plans to go to Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines.
“I hope India, even Pakistan, UAE and then Europe,” the 30 year old said, outlining a hectic schedule.
Nara graduated from Nippon Sports Science University and spent a year in Auckland, New Zealand, where he played for the Counties Manukau representative side, which speaks volumes for the man’s ability — a glimpse of which can be seen on his YouTube channel, Hitch Touch.
He was working for the Japan Touch Association, which boasts about 7,000 players and stages close to 50 tournaments in a year. Nara said the game has great potential.
“I think countries like Japan and Taiwan can one day compete with New Zealand and Australia,” he said after describing his experiences at the World Cup in Edinburgh in 2011, where Japan finished fourth.
“However, it will take some time,” he added.
Nara said he once tried out for the Japan rugby sevens team.
“I could beat a lot of guys and score tries, but, look at me,” he said, indicating his slight frame. “Tackling was a problem. That was my first experience with tackling.”
However, Nara added that rugby players were a vital source of talent for the Japan Touch scene.
“I will see the rugby players in the off season and say to them: ‘What are you doing? Eating? Drinking? Come and play Touch,’” the Japanese player said.
Saturday’s results were:
Cup champions: Team Hukit; runner-up: SBCs; third: Juggernauts (Taichung); fourth: Pacific Dragons.
Plate champions: Flashmob RFC (Hong Kong); runner-up: Taipei Baboons RFC; third: Strive (Hong Kong); fourth: Dilwl SU Rugby (Hong Kong).
Wok champions: DMB; runner-up: Taipei Hulks; third: Westlake OBs; fourth, Fivewoods RFC.
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
RSS