MIKI Takuya

Classification
Open (ITF, 01 Jul 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (Ameba profile, 07 Aug 2016)

Impairment Details
The impairment to his left knee joint is the result of osteosarcoma [bone cancer]. (Athlete, 08 Sep 2016)

General
OVERCOMING INJURIES
He has been troubled by a number of injuries. After undergoing surgery following a fall from a broken ramp in 2017, he suffered from inflammation in his knee and back pain, which made him consider retiring from the sport. He was also troubled by inflammation in his pelvis in August 2018, which kept him out of competition until February the following year. "After recovering from knee surgery, I began having backache, and it even made me consider retiring from competition. However, my fellow wheelchair tennis player Shingo Kunieda introduced me to a physiotherapist who improved my back. It gave me hope I would still be able to play tennis. In particular, it was so hard for me to not train or play for a half year." (nikkansports.com, 23 Apr 2019; asahi.com, 07 Jan 2020; Nippon Challenged Athlete Radio, 14 May 2021)

SWAPPING STUDIES FOR SPORT
He began studying at Kobe Gakuin University in Japan in 2009 and aspired to become a physiotherapist. He left his studies the following year after being invited to train in Chiba, Japan, by wheelchair tennis player Shingo Kunieda and his coach Hiromichi Maruyama after he won the 2010 Kobe Open. "At the Kobe Open, Shingo Kunieda came to me and said that he wanted to prepare for the 2012 Paralympic Games with me. I initially wanted to continue studying while playing, but I felt it would be too difficult. My mother supported me moving to Chiba, but my father strongly disagreed about me leaving university. It was my first parent-child fight. I had to make a plan to show him, and my mother also helped me persuade him in the end." (Nippon Challenged Athlete Radio, 14 May 2021; sports.gazoo.com, 09 Mar 2021)

BOOK RELEASE
His autobiography 'Beyond the Wall I Got Over' was released in 2018. (amazon.co.jp, 22 Mar 2018)