On a recent day, Olympic gold medal wrestler Eri Tosaka posted a question on Instagram, asking, "what is the difference between 'I never used to' and 'I have never'?"

A reply quickly came from a stranger to explain what each of the two English sentences mean.

With practices called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tosaka, who won the women's 48-kilogram category in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, found herself grappling with a new foe: English.

Tosaka, 26, who belongs to Toshin Jyuken Co. in Aichi Prefecture, used to be embarrassed when spoken to in English by other athletes or fans.

Now, she is devoting herself to improving her language skills and dreams of sharing her world-class wrestling techniques with her rivals and supporters in the language.

TIME TO KILL AT HOME

After she failed to be selected as a member of the national team in December last year for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which have been postponed until next summer, Tosaka was at a loss of what to do. Her wrestling practice partners from her generation successively retired.

Although Tosaka decided to continue her career as an active wrestler, she felt pressure because she thought "nothing has changed as to myself and I must do something."

Around that time, Shigakkan University in Aichi Prefecture closed a practice facility for Tosaka and other athletes due to the virus pandemic, forcing her to return to her family home in Toyama Prefecture.

Spending most of the time at home, Tosaka started studying English from early April. Behind the decision is her bitter experiences.

Tosaka has won the world championships three times in a row and is deemed a model wrestler both in Japan and abroad. She was frequently asked to demonstrate her skills by non-Japanese wrestlers, but she did not know even simple phrases in English.

"I was disappointed that others mistakenly believed that I was refusing to teach them," said Tosaka.

There are no off-seasons in wrestling, and Tosaka had not found an opportunity to hone her communications capability on a full-scale basis. However, she has long felt that she needed to improve her English-speaking skills.

Once she made up her mind, Tosaka, who reached the top of her sport with a greater work ethic than her competitors, began fully committing herself to achieving the new goal.

She studies for five to six hours daily on average, while her learning time lasts up to 10 hours at her desk on a day.

When interacting with her fans in a live stream on Instagram, one of them suggested Tosaka "post messages in English." Tosaka has since uploaded daily English comments on Instagram.

While she refers to a dictionary for unknown words, Tosaka makes many mistakes because she relies on her own knowledge to work out comments to be posted.

She noted "using a translation app to create correct sentences will not help improve my language skills." Instead, fans and others who find mistakes in her messages rectify errors as her "teachers."

In one instance, Tosaka was encouraged by a warm comment from an Instagram user who writes that the person "can at least figure out what you are trying to say."

Tosaka grinned and said that while showing an image of herself studying in glasses at her desk, she asks for advice to "create a situation where I cannot turn back" by having many people involved in her learning process.

Tosaka has studied for only two months, but she said she feels her ability has improved.

"I still cannot speak fluently but I have become able to listen to people speaking English," Tosaka said. "I now can write what I want to say in English."

RETURN TO THE MAT

On May 14, the central government lifted the state of emergency declaration for 39 prefectures, including Toyama, and some sports communities gradually started resuming practice sessions.

Tosaka said she would temporarily suspend the daily task of posting English comments on Instagram but promised to continue studying every day.

She did not commit to whether she will continue training with a goal to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. But her new goal, at least regarding English, has been determined: giving advice in English for non-Japanese wrestlers and teaching wrestling to children overseas.

"That might help, however, nurture athletes who can compete with Japanese wrestlers in the future," said Tosaka with a wry smile.