is a Japanese

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

player who plays as a forward for Japanese national team.

Personal life

Kota Watanabe studies in the College of Business Administration at

Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus (KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture, the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC). Tod ...

Career

National teams

Under–21

In 2015, Watanabe made his debut for the Japan under–21 side at the Junior Asia Cup. The team finished fourth, qualifying for the Junior World Cup. Following the Junior Asia Cup, Watanabe represented the side again at the 2016 Junior World Cup in

Lucknow, India Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division. ...

, where the team finished in thirteenth place.

Senior national team

Kota Watanabe made his senior international debut in 2016 at the

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual invitational international men's field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest. The tournament became an annual event after 1998, following its growth and popularity. The ...

Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

, where the team came last. Following his debut in 2016, Watanabe has been a regular inclusion in the Japanese team. His most prominent performance came in the 2018, at the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

. At the tournament, the team won a gold medal, qualifying directly to the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Adelaide Fire

In 2019, Watanabe was signed to the

Adelaide Fire Adelaide Fire is an Australian professional field hockey club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club was established in 2019, and is one of 7 established to compete in Hockey Australia's new premier domestic competition, Hockey One. The c ...

hockey team to compete in the inaugural tournament of the Sultana Bran Hockey One League, Australia's new premier domestic competition.

References

External links

* * * * 1996 births Living people Japanese male field hockey players Male field hockey forwards Field hockey players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic field hockey players for Japan Field hockey players at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in field hockey Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Expatriate field hockey players Japanese expatriate sportspeople in Australia Sportspeople from Fukui Prefecture 21st-century Japanese people {{Japan-fieldhockey-bio-stub