Samurai Japan baseball manager Atsunori Inaba, himself a past Olympic baseball player (2008 Beijing), spoke about the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games during a recent YouTube interview.
After the 2020 Games were postponed to the summer of 2021, Inaba's contract was extended, and he will be the skipper for the host National Team during the six-team Tokyo 2020 Olympic Baseball competition.
"I'm scouting a lot of players," said Inaba. "Due to the COVID-19 limitations, I'm not showing up at the venues very often, but I watch a lot of television.
"I'm confident that the Games will happen next Summer," added Inaba. "I want to prepare well for the Games. My intention is winning a gold medal. I want to share the joy with all our fans."
The Japanese National Team is going to open camp at the end of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season.
"We are going to play a series," confirmed Inaba. "It will be a chance to take a look at some younger players. I'm looking forward to it."
Inaba led Samurai Japan to the WBSC Premier12 title last November.
"I still remember the joy and the celebration," commented Inaba. "I want to build the Olympic team on the foundations of the Premier12 rosters. As I said, I'm also considering new and younger players."
