Miyoshi Takei        Blind Tennis History

Mr Takei Miyoshi was a great man, a pioneer in a new sport and a role model and great and unique representative to the visually impaired. He will be best remembered as the inventor of blind tennis in Japan. He was born in 1968 and lost his eye-sight at the age of one and a half. When he was 16, as a high school student, he dreamed of playing tennis with the able-bodied and created tennis for the blind. He worked tirelessly at developing a tennis ball specifically tailored for the blind. His devotion to the sport drew many supporters who joined in his work and, finally in 1990, the first ever tennis tournament was held for the visually impaired.
Over a 21 year span, he was National Champion on 16 occasions.
His long term dream and legacy was that blind tennis continue to grow and be played all over the world by as many people as possible. His ultimate goal was for blind tennis to be included in the Paralympics in 2020.

He passed away in a tragic train accident on January 16th 2011, at the age of 42. His open-mindedness made him loved by all. We miss him, but we will honour him by sharing and working towards his dream.

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You can watch the video 'The History of Blind Tennis     Miyoshi Takei's Dream'