Molten’s brand philosophy ‘feel the emotion’ - celebrating the powerful emotional connections we all feel through sport - is brought vividly to life in wheelchair basketball where raw expression, competitive fire, passion, teamwork and determination collide in every moment of this intense, high-speed game.

In this exclusive interview, we dive into the whirlwind of emotions experienced on and off the court with Hiroaki Kozai, who made history at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games by helping Japan secure silver - the nation’s first-ever men’s wheelchair basketball medal - as the team’s top scorer.

Over to you Kozai!

Take us back to the beginning - how did you feel discovering this sport?

When I was 12 years old in 2001, it was an incredible revelation opening the door to wheelchair basketball - by 18, after playing with club team Chiba Hawks, I was so hooked that I moved to the USA to follow my dreams in this sport.

This was my first time away from my family, and coach and mentor Oikawa Shimpei. Adjusting to a new team in America was challenging at first - and with English as my second language, I struggled in the beginning to fully express my emotions and communicate game strategies to my new teammates and coaches.

But my time at the University of Illinois quickly became amazing - the team really made me feel at home. Whether it was competing and lifting each other up on the court, or just hanging out and having fun off the court - every single memory feels like it happened yesterday.

So, from a young age, you got to experience just how much emotional engagement is central to competing in sport?

Absolutely! I know I am lucky to have felt this at such a young age and across different cultures.

After graduating from University of Illinois - where I was mentored by Mike Frogley and earned the National Wheelchair Basketball Association’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in back-to-back seasons (2012 and 2013) - I made my professional debut in Germany’s first division (Rollstuhlbasketball-Bundesliga - RBBL) competing with and against athletes from around the world.

It was at this point in my career that I really started to understand the importance of not just feeling a wide range of emotions - but how harnessing these emotions is fundamental to success.

What are your ‘top tips’ for harnessing emotions?

Once I started to realise that I get so much energy from emotions - the rollercoaster we all experience in sport - I began to look at how I could ‘convert’ these emotions into even more energy, realising this could make me more powerful mentally and physically.

My starting point was keeping an 'emotion diary' under the guidance of a sports psychologist, which helped me become aware of my ‘emotional energy’ and the specific habits in how I think.

That diary - basically an assignment from my sport psychologist - really helped me to discover more and more how emotions shape paths: I would highly recommend this!

What do the emotions from sport mean to you now?

Emotions that come from sport enrich my life - it’s that simple.

The joy of achieving a goal, the flip side of defeat and frustration - every emotion brings colour to our daily lives.

Emotions we feel in sport also create connections - whether you are an athlete, a fan or someone working behind-the-scenes: our emotions allow us to support and gain energy from each other, regardless of our roles.

In the most intense moments of a game, how do you manage your resilience - balancing a calm, analytical mind with the explosive energy needed to compete?

In wheelchair basketball, we have a super fascinating classification system that influences strategy - with every player having different characteristics in their play style and disability, and the team putting everything together to maximize their abilities.

To operate well in this scenario, you must be calm and read the court because the situation changes in the blink of an eye. I always try to see what’s working well, what’s not, what the opponents are trying to do and what we should do to challenge.

After that, I make my decisions and try to execute the skills the best I can. Energy is always in me, so I don’t really need to worry about that.

Having spent many years competing on the global stage, how have you personally experienced the power of sport to build communities that transcend national borders?

Sport has the unique power to connect people - so while languages and cultures may be different, the experience of sharing a space and time where we all give our absolute best under the same rules and towards the same goals connects us through a variety of emotions.

With your unique perspective as an athlete - experiencing both the Japanese and international sports scenes - are there any positive elements from overseas sports culture that you would like to see more of in Japan?

Through my experiences in wheelchair basketball in the United States, there were plenty of programmes designed for children aiming to compete at intercollegiate level.

In Germany, local sports clubs offered a wide range of programmes that focused not only on competitive sport but also on enjoying physical activity.

It seems that access to sport has developed in line with the circumstances of each country, ensuring that children with disabilities have plenty of opportunities to participate.

I hope that in Japan too children will be able to choose from a variety of options for accessing sport, tailored to their individual needs.

Could you share your future goals and the message you hope to convey through sport?

Being on the podium at the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games is my ultimate goal as an athlete - to achieve this goal, I will do everything I can to grow both as a person and as an athlete, so I am fully prepared for the competition.

The greatest honour for me will be if someone watching my performance felt the courage to take a step forward in their own life.