The Japanese media is rather optimistic, looking at 2 golds.
Well, a bit of optimism and the support of the home crowd might help to gain and keep the necessary confidence. Being convinced you have a chance to win is an important ingredient.
But there are, what, four or five gold medals in play? One for humans with a particular mix of chromosomes, another for humans with a slightly different mix? And then two unmixe and one mixed doubles?
The JNT has contenders (but no clear favourites) for the singles, and are certainly not worse off for the doubles.
1.5 years is still a long time away and a lot may happen — total socio- economic implosion of the US, and/or Britland, and an end to the temporary truces in their ongoing civil wars; disintegration of the EU; a global extinction event in the margins of WW3 — and expectancy management is a dark art, but hey, credit to the JNT’s development over the last few years.
