Japanese tennis player Tokito Oda falls off his wheelchair after winning gold at Paralympic

In an exciting singles match, Japan's Tokito Oda defeated Great Britain's Alfie Hewett 2-6, 6-4, 5-7 to win the Paralympic tournament. Hewett narrowly missed a match point at 5-3 while serving for Oda, which was a pivotal moment. The Japanese held and then broke Hewett to tie the game at 5-5.

By
Adeel Talib
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Tokito Oda On Wheelchair

Japan’s Tokito Oda defeated Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett 6-2 4-6 7- in the thrilling Paralympic tennis singles final. In front of an almost sold-out audience on Roland Garros’ Philippe-Chatrier court, the matches lasted just over two and a half hours, serving as a fantastic promotional tool for the occasion. The crucial point was when Hewett, on Oda’s serve, just missed a match point at 5-3; the Japanese held, and then broke Hewett to level the score at 5-5.

The Wimbledon champion Oda, who defeated Hewett in the previous year’s final, won the next two games to win the gold. Wheelchair tennis was a thrilling match, no doubt, but what really took everyone by surprise was Oda’s celebration.

Oda celebrated by spinning on his wheelchair, but the force of it knocked the wheels off of the chair. At eighteen years and 123 days, he became the youngest Paralympic men’s wheelchair singles champion ever.

Oda had decided to remove the chair’s wheels and throw it around himself, so he left Hewett at the net while he lay on the ground, sobbing with happiness. Then the British gentleman came round to help hoist up the wheels, hugged Oda, and whispered in his ear.