JAPAN: 83-year-old Saburo Iwata keeps fit on the volleyball court

Saburo Iwata had been training for volleyball matches literally whenever and wherever he had time for the past 70 years. Age has not softened his enthusiasm for the sport. The 83-year-old starts his day by doing 100 squats and warm-up exercises for his wrists to strengthen his ability to strike the ball. "I am still very speedy to the extent that I can climb down the stairs in a station much faster than young university students do. And I always carry a rucksack to secure my hands free and wear sports shoes to move quickly. Quite often I have to avoid people coming in the opposite direction by jumping as I am always walking in a quick pace and can not make a sudden stop," Iwata told Reuters at his residence. Iwata had been playing volleyball for most of his life, only barring the three years when he was conspired by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War Two. Though Iwata had to remove a portion of his stomach recently and lost more than 10 kilogrammes (22 pounds), he has no plans to quit his favorite sport until he is at least 90-years-old. "I will turn 85 soon so I hope I can continue playing it by 90 or in other words all through my life. It would be great, I can die while playing the game," he said. Though he can not jump and spike as he used to, his energy and spirit are still inspiring his teammates, all of who are also over 60. "He never compromises the game. In terms of playing volleyball, he never tolerates laziness from us for even a second," said Iwata's teammate, 65-year-old Katsuya Suzuki. Iwata was selected to play in the volleyball team at the age of 15 at a local high school. Fascinated by the sport - which was then still very new in Japan, he joined the team. He played for his university team as captain and as the main spiker with his extraordinary high jump, which he acquired through strenuous physical training. He became the first star player in Japan's volleyball history and appeared on the first cover of the Japanese version of "Monthly Volleyball Magazine," which debut in July 1947. He also played for Nippon Seiko, which was one of the leading company teams at the time and at 29, he retired from the front-line and took on the job of coaching younger players. OLD PEOPLE

ITN Source | September 24, 2007

Tags:. .barring. .ball. .magazine. .carry. .terms