is a Japanese

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

player who played third base. Originally from

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China, she was naturalised as a Japanese citizen in 1995. She played in the Japanese teams that won the silver medal at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

and the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and served as manager of the team that won the gold medal at 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 1 ...

.Reika Utsugi Biography and Olympic Results
/ref>

Naturalisation

Utsugi's original name was Ren Yanli and was born in

. Against her father's wishes, she arrived in Japan in 1988 and played for Hitachi Takasaki, which was managed by Taeko Utsugi. She took her manager's name when she naturalised in 1995, becoming Reika Utsugi. Utsugi could not participate in the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

as a Japanese representative, despite being naturalised in 1995. The regulations in the Olympic charter required China to give her permission to play for Japan, as she had changed her nationality within three years of an Olympic event. China refused, realising the competitive threat that Utsugi posed. Hence, Utsugi's first Olympic appearance for Japan was in the

Retirement

Since retiring as an athlete she has managed the softball team of

Renesas Electronics is a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, initially incorporated in 2002 as Renesas Technology, the consolidated entity of the semiconductor units of Hitachi and Mitsubishi excluding their dynamic random-access ...

. She currently manages Bic Camera Takasaki Bee Queen and has managed the

Japan women's national softball team The Japan women's national softball team is the national team of Japan in international softball competitions. It is governed by the Japan Softball Association. They are currently ranked #2 in the world by the International Softball Federation. ...

since 2011, leading them to two world titles.

References

Chinese emigrants to Japan Japanese softball players Softball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic softball players of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Softball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Naturalized citizens of Japan Living people 1963 births Sportspeople from Beijing Olympic medalists in softball Asian Games medalists in softball Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Softball players at the 2002 Asian Games Softball players at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Oath takers at the Olympic Games 21st-century Japanese women {{japan-softball-bio-stub