Japan pair aiming for history in wheelchair curling doubles in Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games

From Kyodo

January 14 2026

TOKYO – A pair of Japanese veterans are aiming to make history at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games in March by ending their country’s Paralympic curling medal drought with victory in the inaugural mixed doubles wheelchair competition.

Aki Ogawa, 50, and Yoji Nakajima, 61, have been part of Japan’s curling scene since the sport went through a boom in the country in 2003.

But while the Japan Olympic women’s team took home medals in 2018 and 2022, Japanese curlers have only qualified for the Paralympics once since the sport’s introduction, when Nakajima led the mixed team at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

That squad did not make it past the first round and Nakajima is determined to write a new chapter in Japanese wheelchair curling history.

“Back in Vancouver, our aim was just to compete. This time is different,” he said in an interview with Kyodo News.

Ogawa and Nakajima both became wheelchair users in their 20s, the former after a skiing incident, the latter due to a traffic accident.

Unlike Olympic curling, in which players sweep the ice in front of a curling stone as it heads toward the “house” scoring zone, athletes in wheelchair curling must make their shots only by hand or with a delivery stick from a stationary position.

The rules mean players must become expert at reading the contours of the ice to successfully block their opponents and get as close to the target as possible.

Ogawa is known for her steely accuracy and ability to pull off tricky draws around the house, while Nakajima excels at nudging other stones around the ice with precision.

While they each have 20 years of experience in the sport and have been on the same team since 2014, they only came together as a doubles team in 2021 to make their bid for the first mixed-double event.

“We wanted to challenge ourselves to become better,” Ogawa said.

Nakajima said he has spent periods out of work as he gave his all to the sport. “It was always wheelchair curling that didn’t have Japanese athletes make it to the games. We felt we had to put a stop to that,” he said.

Their hard work and resolve paid off, with the pair clinching their ticket to the winter games at the World Championships in Britain in March 2025, defeating Scotland 11-2 in the final.

The pair’s coach, Akiko Iino, lauds their experience. “They can read the ice to a high level, and they’re quick at responding to changes in conditions,” she said.

At the Paralympics, the first round begins March 4 at the Cortina Olympic Stadium, two days before the opening ceremony. Nakajima and Ogawa face China, followed by the United States and South Korea on March 5. All are expected to be tough opponents.

Despite their promising start before the games, Ogawa said they are taking nothing for granted.

“Each and every match will be important,” she said.