Fifteen members of the Nadeshiko Japan soccer team that won the 2011 Women's World Cup will lead off the Tokyo Olympic Games torch relay on Thursday, but the side's biggest star will not take part due to health concerns.
Homare Sawa, the most valuable player and top goal scorer of the World Cup in Germany, is dealing with a long-term condition affecting her inner ear and will not run in the relay, former Nadeshiko Japan head coach Norio Sasaki said Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference before the start of the 121-day relay, Sasaki said he and the Nadeshiko Japan players would be thinking of their inspirational captain when they set out from the J-Village soccer training center in Fukushima Prefecture.