Japan Gymnastics "King" declared and retired

[Global Times reporter Zhuang Yu] Japan's "Yomiuri Shimbun" said on the 11th that The Japanese gymnastics ace player Uchimura Hanghei officially announced his retirement. Uchimura plans to hold a press conference in Tokyo on the 14th to explain the reasons for his retirement and his plans for the future. Uchimura's high intensity of training and high demands on the aesthetics of gymnastics have made him known as the "king" in the Japanese gymnastics world. Many Japanese netizens said on social media: "Uchimura players have worked hard. There are also some Japanese netizens who expect Daiki Hashimoto and other players to take over the baton of Uchimura and continue to promote the development of the Japanese gymnastics community.

Born in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, 33-year-old Kenhei Uchimura grew up in a gymnastics club run by his parents, and has had high hopes since high school with techniques such as twisting trained on a trampoline. However, the people around him commented on Uchimura as "excellent in ability, but hate training".

In the Japan domestic auditions before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the 19-year-old Uchimaura Hangping successfully selected for the Japanese national team with his excellent performances and won a silver medal in the individual all-around in Beijing. Since then, at the London 2012 Olympic Games and the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Uchimura has won consecutive individual all-around championships and subsequently turned into the first professional athlete in the Japanese gymnastics industry. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Uchimura did not win anything.

Uchimura's announcement of his retirement has attracted widespread attention from public opinion. According to Japan's "Tokyo Sports" website reported on the 11th, the International Olympic Committee posted on its official website that "the 33-year-old superstar won 6 world championships and two Olympic gold medals from 2009 to 2016, dominating the gymnastics industry for nearly 10 years."

Naoshi Fujita, president of the Japan Gymnastics Association, said on the 11th that Uchimura Hanghei is a great athlete and wishes him a new life. Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun" said that Uchimura Hanghei won a total of 7 medals (3 gold and 4 silver) in the Olympic Games, and the Japanese athlete who won the most medals at the World Championships, accumulatively won 21 medals (10 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze).