With their World Cup hopes on the line against Hungary, Japan suffered a devastating 84–63 defeat that punched Hungary’s ticket to the quarterfinals. The loss quickly became secondary, though, after a concerning injury to Saki Hayashi stunned the arena, leaving fans and spectators focused on the upsetting incident long after the game ended.
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“Prayers up for Saki Hayashi, who sustained an injury during the second quarter 🙏,” read the X post from FIBA Women’s Basketball on September 8.
The sequence happened in the second quarter of the game, with just over a minute left. As Hungary’s Dorka Juhasz shot for two, the shot was blocked by the Japanese, and Rui Machida grabbed the ball and led the Japanese offence up the court. As she dribbled down the hardwood, she found Saki Hayashi, who was running up the right wing, and passed a dart to her. Hayashi, guarded by Agnes Torok, shot for a two before landing awkwardly on her right arm. Hayashi’s shot added two points to the Japanese score, and a foul was called on Torok, but immediate medical attention was required as the arena went into an eerie silence and disbelief.
Hayashi went down with what looked like a broken arm. Hayashi lay motionless, clearly unable to continue. Staff quickly raised a blue tarp to shield her from view as medical staff worked, and the quiet was broken only by compassionate applause from the stands as she was escorted away.
Following the contest, Japan head coach Corey Gaines had no immediate medical update regarding Hayashi’s condition.
“I don’t know anything about her yet,” he said, per the Associated Press.
“I saw what happened, but I don’t know what went on. She was gone by the time we got back from the court at halftime… so I don’t know.”
Acknowledging the toll the scene took on his team, Gaines reflected on the challenge of refocusing after seeing a teammate injured so severely:
“Of course it’s emotional when you see when the players go down like that,” Gaines added. “I was just trying to get their minds off of that, back onto the game. That’s tough though.”
Saki Hayashi’s devastating injury came just days after she etched her name into the tournament record books, draining a single-game record nine three-pointers in Japan’s opening victory over Mali on Friday.
Through a translator, veteran center Maki Takada revealed that coach Gaines urged the squad at the break to regroup and rally behind their fallen teammate.
“We all thought that as well, that we really just have to come together and do it for her, and it’s a shame that we couldn’t do it,” Takada said.
The fans wasted no time in wishing Saki Hayashi a speedy recovery.
“That was some serious contact,” one fan said.
“Definitely a brutal arm break 😩😩,” another fan added. The injury at the time looked quite serious, and many fans feared that Hayashi had gone down with an arm break.
“That was a career-ending injury by the way. She’s was holding her forearm for stability. It looked like an elbow fracture/dislocation to me,” added one fan, fearing the worst. This comes as speculation, as nothing has been confirmed about the injury so far. Japan will certainly hope that their silver medallist from the 2020 Summer Olympics gets back on the court after a speedy recovery.
“I hope it heals quickly and fully. I hope she’ll be back on the court playing basketball again by this time next year,” one fan remarked online.
“Wishing Saki Hayashi a smooth and speedy recovery,🙏🏀 Hoping she’ll be back on the court soon,” one fan said, reflecting the basketball community’s mood as they pray for Hayashi’s health.
With Saki Hayashi’s injury and the loss to Hungary, Japan’s run in the tournament is over.
Réka Lelik paced Hungary with a near-flawless 23-point, eight-rebound, four-assist outing across 27 minutes of action. Shooting 8-of-12 from the field, including 7-of-10 inside the arc, and 6-of-6 from the FT line, Lelik posted an efficiency rating of 32, finished plus-24, and did not commit a single turnover.
With the victory, the Hungarians keep their ultimate ambition intact, taking another step toward chasing a coveted FIBA Women’s World Cup championship.
Hungary will now face the ultimate challenge when they take on Team USA in the quarterfinals. The US are clear favorites, though, with four wins against the Hungarians in head-to-head meetings, per FIBA.