"I was visibly staring at her" - American volleyball player Chiaka Ogbogu admits to being star-struck by Naomi Osaka at Tokyo Olympics
American volleyball player Chiaka Ogbogu recently opened up about being star-struck by tennis icon Naomi Osaka at the Tokyo Olympics.
Ogbogu, who was a part of the US national team that won the gold medal at the volleyball event, was asked about which well-known athlete she looked forward to meeting at the Olympic Village. The player confessed that she was awestruck by four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka and narrated an amusing anecdote about the duo crossing paths during a lunch break. The player went on to note that she couldn’t gather the courage to introduce herself to Osaka and stayed put out of respect.
"I met a couple, but one, I don’t know if I regret not going up to her, because like, she looked like she was in the zone and I really did not want to be that girl. We’re all there for the same reason. As I am preparing for big matches, so is she. But Naomi Osaka – I saw her in the lunch room – and I couldn’t eat my lunch. I was visibly staring at her. She probably saw me at one point. It’s so funny, it’s like a tricky balance of trying to be professional and respectful," she revealed, while speaking to Kaz Brown.
"My mom was saying that, 'Why don’t you say hi? You’re all there for the same reason.' I’m like, 'Mom, do you know who that is? It’s a little different'. But in a sense, I should also feel like I earned the right to be there. We’re all kind of on the same plane. But some people though, deserve that respect. I gave it to her," she added.
Naomi Osaka was chosen to light the Olympic cauldron at the Tokyo Olympics. The Japanese player’s run, however, came to an end with a loss to Marketa Vondrousova in the third round.
"I shouldn’t be where I am right now" - Naomi Osaka reveals her feelings about finding success in her young career
Naomi Osaka recently revealed how her lookout for her career changed over the years and how she never expected to attain the success she was blessed with. She also noted that young fans motivate her to keep going when she is feeling low.
"In the beginning of my career, I really motivated myself with making history, whatever that means. When I finally accomplished all that stuff, I was kind of sitting there like, 'Ok, what do I want to do?' I think it’s all about, like sometimes you need to step back and put your life in perspective because for me, I shouldn’t be where I am right now, if that makes sense.This is a 1% chance, probably less than that, of happening from where I came as a kid," she confessed.
"So, the moments that I am feeling down, where there’s a kid that comes up to me and they’re like 'You’re my favorite player,' I think those moments to me, make me realize this is why I’m still doing this," she said during an interview for her production company Hana Kuma.