Japanese gymnast Hitomi Hatakeda announced her retirement at the age of just 21 after suffering a spinal injury last year from which she has not yet recovered.
Hatakeda fell heavily on his back during an uneven bar training at the World Cup-2021 in Kitakuyshu (Japan).
He left the hospital a week after his fall, with the intention of returning to the competition in the future, but this Tuesday he announced on Instagram, citing that injury as the main reason, that he is retiring.
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He still has sequelae of that injury to the spinal cord and cervical vertebrae.
Next month's Japanese national championship in Tokyo will be his last competition before his retirement, he said.
Hatakeda was part of Japan's women's national team that finished fifth last year at the Tokyo Olympics.
His father Yoshiaki, a former gymnast, won bronze in the men's team event of the Barcelona-1992 Olympic Games.
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