Japanese table tennis players stubble after stubble, even 22-year-old Mimato Ito felt the pressure of competition within the team. Recently, the Japan Table Tennis Association announced the list of Japanese table tennis teams participating in the Hangzhou Asian Games, and Ito Misei was not on the list. For a time, rumors that Ito Mimai was "abandoned" by the Japan Table Tennis Association were very popular. What happened to this Japanese table tennis sister who is regarded as the number one rival by National Table Ping? Can she still compete in the Paris Olympics?
It's normal for athletes to experience career peaks and lows, and Mimato Ito's poor performance in the Asian Games trials for the Japanese team was the main reason why she missed the Asian Games. In the Asian Games trials last April, Mimato Ito lost to Miyu Kihara and was not selected for singles. Since only singles at the Asian Games could provide points for Olympic selection, Ito has since abandoned the team competition. Her withdrawal also gave 14-year-old Zhang Benmei the opportunity to compete in the Asian Games.
Miyuki Ito
With the rise of Japan's young players, Ito's advantage is no longer obvious, after almost losing to Mikazu Changmoto in the domestic league. After the Tokyo Olympics, Ito rarely performed well in the international arena. Even in the face of non-main players of National Table Tennis, her dominance is declining. Not to mention that in the past year or so, I have met Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi and Chen Xingtong, and even Qian Tianyi now, and it is difficult for Ito Micheng to win.
There are indications that Misei Ito is experiencing a bottleneck in his career. Ito's advantage is her serve and the first three boards, and she is not her division when she enters the stalemate stage. Already an Olympic champion, she has long been the focus of her opponents. As Ito's technique is slowly studied thoroughly, the serve gradually loses its threat at this stage, and after the first three boards are targeted, she lacks enough technical and tactical routines, which also greatly reduces her performance. Zhang Yining once predicted that Ito would lose the threat after the age of 20.
Hina Hayada
In the Japanese women's team, Hina Hayata won the women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles championships at the national championships, and the momentum is strong; Miyu Hirano has also improved since the Tokyo Olympics, the Houston World Table Tennis Championships and Chen Meng can play seven games, and the recent Singapore Grand Slam event defeated national table tennis main Wang Yidi, adding points to his Olympic points. Hina Hayada, who participated in the women's singles competition at the Asian Games, is a peer of Mima Ito, and the progress of her teammates further sets off Mimato Ito's stagnation, and the latter's position as the first sister in the Japanese table tennis world will be impacted.
Not only that, 18-year-old Miyu Kihara, 14-year-old Miwa Changmoto, these younger descendants have also emerged.
Miyu Kihara
At the ITTF Junior Table Tennis Open held in Italy in 2016, 12-year-old Miyu Kihara won the women's singles championship, becoming the youngest tournament champion in history, and breaking Liu Shiwen's record of winning the championship at the age of 13. Miyu Kihara was also dubbed a "super genius" by the Japanese media. In the women's singles competition of the 2021 Table Tennis World Youth Championships, Miyu Kihara defeated China's Wu Yangchen in the semifinals, preventing the National Table Tennis Club Division Final, but lost 3-4 to China's Quang Man in the final; In the mixed doubles final, Miyu Kihara partnered with Daitō Shinozuka to defeat Xiang Peng/Quman, the strongest combination of national table tennis, and broke out a big upset. Miyu Kihara will be one of the future rivals of National Pingping.
Miwa Chang is the younger sister of Tomokazu Changmoto, who is well-rounded and steady, and is the best among her age group. In 2022, Zhang Benmeihe defeated the players of the second Chinese table tennis team several times in a row, and also played an 11-0 disparity in the match with China's Zhangeman. In time, Zhang Benmeihe will also be a major threat to Guoping.
Miwa Chang
Because of many upset losses, Mimato Ito is currently behind Hina Hayada, Miyu Kihara, and Miu Hirano in terms of points, and if he does not work hard, he may lose the Paris Olympics. At the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban in May this year, Misei Ito will participate in the women's singles and women's doubles competitions, and she needs to seize the opportunity to strive for rebound.
For Guoping, Ito's alarm has not yet been lifted, but with the rise of other young Japanese players, it is more necessary to have a clear understanding and vigilance.