Photo/Illutration Aiko Okazaki wins her first-round match in the women’s Paralympic individual archery event in the W1 class at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo on Sept. 1. (Takaharu Yagi)

Paralympic wheelchair athlete Aiko Okazaki never stopped aiming for the bulls-eye in life despite becoming partially paralyzed in one of Japan's deadliest train accidents 16 years ago.

She has lived her life on her own terms and succeeded in becoming a Paralympian in archery only eight years after picking up a bow. 

Okazaki, 35, advanced to the quarterfinals in the women’s individual archery event in the W1 class on Sept. 1 and faced off against a Chinese opponent.

Okazaki earned the highest 10 points in the second end to tie the score, but lost to her opponent, who went on to win the gold medal, by three points.

“I was able to compete almost as much as I wanted to,” said Okazaki, who smiled gently during the tight match. “I enjoyed it.”

On April 25, 2005, Okazaki, who was a sophomore at Doshisha University at the time, was riding on the first car of a seven-car rapid train on the JR Takarazuka Line (also called the Fukuchiyama Line).

She was tossed in the air as the speeding train derailed on a curve. Okazaki broke her neck and injured her spinal cord in the accident, which killed 107 people. She experienced great difficulty breathing, making her feel like she was drowning all day. She thought she would die.

She was hospitalized for 377 days, the longest among the 562 people who were injured in the tragedy.

After being paralyzed from the waist down, Okazaki contemplated her future course of life.

“I don’t want to be pitied just because I was injured in the accident,” she thought. “I want to enjoy my life.”

She imagined herself becoming the person she wanted to be and acted accordingly. She landed a job, began living on her own, published books and held lecture sessions. She gained confidence as she mastered new things.

Okazaki tried her hand at archery at the suggestion of her mother after Tokyo won the bid to host the Summer Games eight years ago. She noticed that her muscles responded when she drew an arrow back. She decided to take up the sport because she felt she could move her body.

Three years later, she became able to shoot at a target 10 meters away. It took her another one and a half years to hit a target 50 meters away.

Okazaki uses bows with mechanical pulleys that enable athletes to draw the string back without possessing a strong grip. She wrapped a release aid around her wrist to compensate for a lack of grip strength when she practiced shooting arrows.

She has difficulty regulating her blood flow due to her disability, making her susceptible to anemia. She awoke at 4 a.m. on Sept. 1 to warm up for her competition, scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

“When I face a challenge, I always try to find a way to overcome it,” she said.

Okazaki said she learned a lot from the 2005 accident and that she has come this far after enduring many trials and tribulations.

“I want more people to participate in archery,” she said. “Even I was able to compete in the Paralympics. I encourage as many people as possible to take up the sport.”

Okazaki added that she hopes her competitions will inspire others.

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