Riho Kamezawa

Born on October 28, 1990, in Suginami ward, Tokyo, Riho Kamezawa is a mother athlete with a 4-year-old daughter. Riho has sensorineural hearing loss. She started playing table tennis in the fourth grade and went on to compete in four Deaflympics in 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021, earning three silver medals and five bronze medals. Currently, she works for Sumitomo Densetsu Co., Ltd. and is active on social media platforms such as YouTube (Sato Siblings Channel).

Have you heard of the term “Deaflympics”? Were you aware that the 2025 Deaflympics have been scheduled for Tokyo?

I was born with a hearing impairment and typically wear hearing aids. I communicate with others by adjusting to what they can do, whether it being able to use sign language, or whether I can read their lip movements. Since the advent of the mask-wearing era, I have also started using written communication and voice recognition apps.

The reason I started playing table tennis was that my parents were involved in the sport. I first encountered the term “Deaflympics” along with the Olympics and Paralympics when I was in the first grade. On the day I attended my first Deaf table tennis training camp, a former world champion gave a speech, and that was when I first came across the term “Deaflympics.” At that moment, it became an adoration to me. When I was in my first year of junior high school, I participated in the Deaf National Championship for the first time and came in third place, which turned my adoration into my dream. After winning medals in my first international competition (the Asian Games), I aspired to win medals at the Deaflympics. In 2009, I finally made my debut at the Taipei Deaflympics, where I won a silver medal, making me realize that I could achieve my goals. Four years later, I aimed for a gold medal at the Bulgaria Games, but as a working adult with limited training time and physical challenges, I managed to win two medals but fell short of the gold. With determination to achieve the gold, I made various efforts, increasing my training and gym frequency, and embarked on my third attempt at the Turkey Games, where I won a bronze medal. I was shocked by the sudden increase in the world’s level of competition.

Afterward, I took a break from table tennis when I became a mom, but when my body settled down, I decided to participate in the Deaf National Championship without really caring about the outcome. This sparked my desire to aim for a gold medal once again as a mother athlete, and I resumed my activities. However, at that time, I was working full time and it was challenging to find a proper balance with work, childcare, table tennis, etc. My daily routine was often disrupted by my child’s health condition. I had to cancel private lessons due to having to work overtime, leave work early to pick up my child from daycare, and frequently had to work from home. I couldn’t train satisfactorily. I began to feel a strong sense of crisis that I couldn’t compete at the global level with my current situation. I had to make a decision: retire as an athlete or change my environment to seek employment as a para-athlete. After months of contemplation, I couldn’t easily give up on table tennis. In February 2022, I switched jobs to Sumitomo Densetsu Co., Ltd., which offered employment opportunities for para-athletes. Now that I have more time to spare, I am working to achieve my goal of winning a gold medal at the 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo, while balancing work and childcare, with support for various expenses related to my activities.

Life is unpredictable. Do what you want to do. You can always trust that the results will be good for you as well.

Lastly, I would like to make a request to all readers. The awareness of the Deaflympics in Japan is only about 16%. To raise awareness, we need everyone’s help, so please spread the word.

The 2025 Tokyo Deaflympics will mark its 100th anniversary, and I hope that many people will be able to see many deaf athletes in our home country. We want to inspire and bring courage to as many people as possible, and we will continue to work hard to repay the support we receive every day. Thank you for your support.

Edited and published by the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities.

Published on April 25th, 2023.