Japan swim king Hagino loses mojo

TOKYO: Olympic swim champion Kosuke Hagino said Friday he has pulled out of next month’s Japanese championships, blaming a lack of hunger and triggering concerns about his appetite for Tokyo 2020.The 24-year-old was Japan’s best hope for a swimming gold medal next year alongside Olympic poster girl Rikako Ikee, who was diagnosed with leukaemia last month.“I’ve been unable to achieve the results I had hoped for since the 2017 season,” Hagino said in a statement. “As the gap between my targets and reality has widened, it has become harder for me to maintain my motivation.”The former Asian champion has struggled with form since capturing gold in the men’s 400 metres individual medley at the 2016 Rio Olympics.Japan coach Norimasa Hirai admitted that Hagino was in no shape to contest the nationals in Tokyo after skipping another local meet last month.“In his current condition it would be really hard,” Hirai told Japanese media. “He’s not in very good spirits. He needs to rest and when he decides to comes back, he needs to start swimming for himself.”Hagino shot to fame by scooping four gold medals at the 2014 Asian Games, including a stunning upset over Chinese giant Sun Yang in the 200m freestyle. He stormed to victory in his pet 400m individual medley in Rio and added a silver behind Michael Phelps in the 200m.

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