"I am gonna tell my grandchildren that I worked with an Olympic medallist team" - Japanese citizen's dream comes true at the Tokyo Games

Many Japanese citizens were less than happy with the Olympics being held in Tokyo due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there were a few of those Olympic fanatics who were thrilled to be a part of the historic quadrennial event.

The experience of being a part of the Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and only a handful of people in the world get to live that episode in their life.

Teruki Nakazawa and Ikumi Mukiada, two otherwise regular citizens of Japan, saw their dream come true when they were made a part of the Great Britain women's hockey team.

Both Teruki and Ikumi worked with GBR women's hockey team and provided all the support since the team started arriving at the Oi hockey stadium. Their job would start when the team bus arrived at the station in the venue.

Here onwards, they would help the team reach the practice session field, match field and every other location in the Oi hockey stadium. These two citizens of Japan were the point of contact for everything the GBR team needed.

Teruki Nakazawa and Ikumi Mukiada Enter caption Ikumi with Pennant and Tshirt caption

Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for two citizens of Japan

When Team GBR's campaign ended on Friday with a bronze medal in Tokyo, the entire hockey squad saluted the work done by Teruki and Ikumi. Before boarding their flight home, GBR team members handed pennants with signatures of every member of the squad along with a jersey. Teruki and Ikumi were also given T-shirts.

After receiving the memorials, Teruki said:

"This came as a surprise. I was not expecting this. To work closely with the a team that won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics was such an honor. I'm extremely thankful to them for this memory."

Ikumi Mukiada

Teruki Nakazawa, who has played hockey at the university level, had applied for the Hockey Liaison Officer position in 2018. Playing hockey at the university level has helped her understand the sport better.

Since she was comfortable conversing in English, she was assigned the role to work with team GBR two days prior to their arrival in Japan.

Upon being asked what she plans to do with her memento, Teruki said:

"I'm going to keep this in my showcase and tell my grandchildren when I get older that I worked with an Olympic medalist team. This is why I wanted to be part of the Olympics."

"I'll never forget the Summer of 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics. These were some of the best days of my life. I'm over delighted with these mementos and thankful to the entire GBR team," said Teruki Nakazawa, who was the main Liaison officer with GBR team.

Teruki Nakazawa

Teruki went on to add:

"When they arrived here on the first day, I was a little nervous. My English isn't that good but the GBR team members understood everything I said."

Upon being asked what was special about this team, Teruki said:

"They're a fun-loving team and they enjoyed every moment they played. Even after they lost 2 matches in the group stage, they looked at the positive aspects and were confident of winning a medal."

"Everyone in the team was nice to me, even the support staff. I spoke to so many of them. Many of them were from different cities and we spoke about their home as well."

One common misconception with many people is that the Great Britain team that participates in the Olympics represents the union of four nations - England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

When asked if she knew that Wales was a part of GBR, Teruki gave an honest answer:

"I didn't know to be honest. I thought they were all from England (laughs). However, these are the things you learn from the Olympics. My general knowledge is also improving due to the games."

Both Teruki and Ikumi never took selfies with any players during the entire journey. However, after the GBR team campaign ended, the team members asked them to come for a group photo, which they were happy to be a part of.

Teruki Nakazawa and Ikumi Mukiada with the entire GBR women's team