Japan’s heroine Hirota in good spirits after long overdue surgery

Cheerful: Japanese women’s doubles ace Sayaka Hirota gets a visit from partner Yuki Fukushima at the hospital. — Pix courtesy of Yuki Fukushima’s Instagram

PETALING JAYA: World No. 1 Yuki Fukushima-Sayaka Hirota may have failed to defend the women’s doubles gold for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics recently.

But they have certainly won the hearts of badminton fans worldwide with their valiant display to reach the quarter-finals despite Hirota playing with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).