It was a historic and memorable night for four-time Grand Slam women’s singles champion Naomi Osaka as she lit up the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony last night.
The 23-year-old climbed a stylish Mount Fuji in the form of a pyramid to light the cauldron which sat inside a blooming flower.
As always, it was the symbolic beginning of two weeks of competition in the oddest possible circumstances with empty stadiums because of a global pandemic.
Osaka represents many things as she is one of many athletes in Japan who are challenging long-held notions about race in the country.
Osaka says this is the greatest athletic achievement and honor she will ever have in her life.
She represents a new generation of athletes and celebrities whose voice has emerged in the past year on several social issues, including race, both in Japan and the United States and beyond.
Her appearance at the ceremony prompted a move of her opening round match in the women’s singles tournament against Zheng Saisai of China.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) July 23, 2021
The match was originally scheduled for this morning but has been moved to Sunday.
There are 11 gold medal events at the Olympic Games today.
Team Fiji’s Sally Yee is currently facing Guyana’s Chelsea Edghill in her first match in the table tennis preliminary round. The men’s Olympic 7s competition runs from next Monday until Wednesday.
The Fiji men’s 7s team will begin their defence of the Olympic gold medal against Japan at 12pm Monday and then play Canada at 8pm Monday.
Fiji will play Great Britain at 12.30pm next Tuesday.
The quarterfinals will start at 8.30pm next Tuesday, the semifinals will be played from 2pm next Wednesday while the final will be played at 9pm next Wednesday.
