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Nakata Kumi |
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| Date of Birth | 3 September 1965 |
| Place of Birth | Gunma |
She is a very great women in the world of sports, especially volleyball. She entered the national team when she was only 15 years old. Since then, she has belonged to the national team for 11 years, and she has been a world-level player. Her position was setter and she was called a genius setter. Her play was wonderful and she had many fans. The reason that she was loved by everyone was that she ran after the ball desperately and she has a charming character.
She was born on September 3, 1965 and she began to play volleyball when she was six years old. Her talent for volley ball was very great, and she became one of the members of the national team when she was 15 years old. At the same time, she entered HITACHI which is a famous electric company. People think that she didn't graduate from high school, but that is not true. She graduated high school through a correspondence course while playing volleyball.
She experienced many international games. When she was 18 years old, she took part in the Olympics which was held in Los Angeles. She won the bronze medal. Her play has attracted the attention of people all over the world.
Unfortunately, when she was 20 years old, she was seriously injured. She injured her knee when she was training. Her knee wouldn't move. She was told that her case was incurable and she couldn't play volleyball again by her doctor. She never gave up because she wanted to win the gold medal in the Olympics. She did her rehabilitation exercises every day, but her injury didn't heal completely. It was a serios wound for her as a volleyball player.
Later she took part in the Olympics two times, Seoul and Barcelona and she took an active part in the game in spite of the pain in her knee. She wanted to get the gold medal. It was her greatest hope. To her regret, she couldn't win the gold medal in the Olympics. The moment she realized that she couldn't win the gold medal on the court, she burst into tears there. Her long cherished dream was shattered.
Later, she said that she couldn't win the gold medal, but she could get many wonderful things other than the gold medal. Then she retired from the national team. Many people regretted her leaving. Today, she is active as a TV personality, a model and a commentator for volleyball.
. References: "Yumewosinjite written by Nakata Kumi"
Reported by: Inoue Tomoko
Data verified by: Tsutsumi Mie
Date of Report: July 1998