KOZAI Hiroaki

Japan
Wheelchair Basketball
14 Jul 1988
33
Male
3.5
KANAGAWA
 
Japan

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
WBK Wheelchair Basketball Men
JPN
Japan
 2 Silver Medal

Schedule

Change
Start Time Location Event Status
Musashino Forest Sport Plaza
Men's Preliminary Round Group A
#14
COL
Colombia
56
JPN
Japan
63
Finished
Ariake Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A
#25
JPN
Japan
59
KOR
Republic of Korea
52
Finished
Ariake Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A
#32
JPN
Japan
62
CAN
Canada
56
Finished
Ariake Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A
#45
ESP
Spain
79
JPN
Japan
61
Finished
Ariake Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A
#48
TUR
Turkey
55
JPN
Japan
67
Finished
Ariake Arena
Men's Quarterfinal
#59
JPN
Japan
61
AUS
Australia
55
Finished
Ariake Arena
Men's Semifinal
#68
JPN
Japan
79
GBR
Great Britain
68
Finished
Ariake Arena
Men's Gold Medal Match
#73
USA
United States
64
JPN
Japan
60
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

:
RankEventYearLocation
Paralympic Games
7Men2008Beijing, CHN
9Men2016Rio de Janeiro, BRA
9Men2012London, GBR
World Championships
7Men2006Amsterdam, NED
9Men2018Hamburg, GER
9Men2014Incheon, KOR
Asian Para Games
2Men2018Jakarta, INA
:
Hiro (parasapo.tokyo, 10 Feb 2020)
:
Athlete
:
Sport Management - Illinois State University, United States
:
English, Japanese
:
Kazuyuki Kyoya [national], JPN
:
Forward (parasapo.tokyo, 10 Feb 2020)
:
He began the sport at age 12 with the Chiba Hawks. (Athlete, 11 Aug 2016; hiroaki-kozai.com, 19 Jan 2020)
:
He was influenced by his father who played basketball. His father took him to a wheelchair basketball experience course that his mother found in the newspaper. He was selected for a team after attending a trial for several weeks. (Athlete, 22 Aug 2012; nippon.com, 29 Oct 2018; challenge-support.com, 2016; 1242.com, 31 Aug 2017)
:
To win a gold medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (2020.yahoo.co.jp, 15 Oct 2019)
:
Japanese baseball player Hideki Matsui, Canadian wheelchair basketball player Patrick Anderson. (1242.com, 31 Aug 2017; Athlete, 11 Aug 2016)
:
Coaches Shimpei Oikawa and Michael Frogley. (hiroaki-kozai.com, 19 Jan 2020; nippon.com, 29 Oct 2018)
:
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins the championship." (Athlete, 11 Aug 2016)
:
He was named Most Valuable Player at the 2018 World Challenge Cup in Japan. (hiroaki-kozai.com, 19 Jan 2020)

He was given the Three Point Award at the Emperor's Cup in Japan in 2016 and 2018. (hiroaki-kozai.com, 19 Jan 2020)

He was named an All Star Five Player at the 2015 and 2017 Asia-Oceania Championships. (iwbf.org, 31 Oct 2017; hiroaki-kozai.com, 19 Jan 2020)

He was named an All Star Five Player at the Emperor's Cup in Japan in 2008, 2016 and 2017. (hiroaki-kozai.com, 19 Jan 2020)

He was named Most Valuable Player for the 2012 and 2013 seasons in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association [NWBA] Intercollegiate Division in the United States of America. (hiroaki-kozai.com, 19 Jan 2020)

General Interest

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (Athlete, 11 Aug 2016)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 11 Aug 2016)

Impairment Details
His legs were amputated above the knees at birth. (hiroaki-kozai.com, 19 Jan 2020)

General
OVERSEAS EXPERIENCES
He moved to the United States of America to study English after he was invited by the head coach of the University of Illinois Michael Frogley during a training camp in Sapporo, Japan. He transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in January 2010, and played in the Intercollegiate Division until his graduation in 2013. Afterwards, he signed a professional contract with the BG Baskets Hamburg in Germany. In 2017 he began playing for the RSV Lahn-Dill in Bundesliga, and returned to Japan in 2019. (nippon.com, 29 Oct 2018; hiroaki-kozai.com, 19 Jan 2020; nikkansports.com, 22 Jul 2019)

Legend
:
Silver Medal
:
Gold Medal Event
:
Silver Medal Event
:
Bronze Medal Event
Content 1 (removed through CDN)
Content 2 (removed through CDN).
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