Despite the uncertainty of the times, the mixed doubles badminton pair of Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino, whose lives were upended nine years ago by a natural disaster, are taking the coronavirus pandemic in stride.
Rather than worrying about what they are unable to accomplish during the public health crisis, the pair from Fukushima Prefecture are focused solely on those things within their reach. The 22-year-old Watanabe and 23-year-old Higashino, who are a hoping to win at medal at next year's Tokyo Olympics have been accustomed to disruptions since their junior high school days, when they experienced the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami that ravaged much of northeastern Japan's coastline.
The Olympic postponement took neither by surprise when it was announced in March. In fact, they were expecting it when they were at home following the British Open that month.