Daiya Seto Stays Home From Training Camp, Still Expected To Race At Asian Games

19TH ASIAN GAMES

• Sunday, September 24th – Friday, September 29th (swimming)
• Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena, Hangzhou, China
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central

The 19th edition of the prestigious Asian Games is almost upon us, with swimming action set to kick off on Sunday, September 24th from Hangzhou, China.

Teams are making their final preparations, including the Japanese squad conducting a training camp in Ebetsu, Hokkaido.

However, 29-year-old Olympic medalist Daiya Seto is not among the attendees, as the versatile ace has been sick.

Head coach Takashi Yokoyama said, “He [Daiya Set0] has not been feeling well since the end of Fukuoka.”

The Asian Games defending 400m IM champion, Seto is reportedly practicing with a trainer at the Ajinomoto National Training Center in Tokyo and plans to join up with the team on the 20th before heading to China.

Team captain and 200m fly bronze medalist at this year’s World Championships Tomoru Honda said to the Asian press today, “This is the competition [Asian Games] that concludes the (summer) season, so I hope we can get a good result. I hope to do so so that I can prepare for next year’s Paris Olympics.”

16-year-old World Junior Championships gold medalist from 2022 Mio Narita said, “I want to swim to the end without giving up and have a fulfilling trip.”

The 2023 Asian Games were postponed from last year due to COVID-19 concerns within the host nation of China. At the last edition of the Asian Games in 2018, Japan topped the overall swimming medal table, amassing a total of 52 pieces of hardware, including 19 golds.

However, China is coming off a highly successful World Championships, with the likes of Qin Haiyang, Zhang Yufei and Li Bingjie putting the Asian competitors on notice.

We’re still awaiting official entry lists for the competition but will publish preview highlights as soon as they become available.