Nako Motohashi, one of Japan’s top point guards, was practicing with the provisional national team in November when she suddenly felt pain in her knee on a drive to the basket.
After being attended to by team staff and doctors, Motohashi received the bad news shortly after the injury — she had suffered ligament damage in her right knee.
At the time, Motohashi thought — quite naturally — the injury had shut the door on her chances of competing at the Tokyo Olympics.