The Hangzhou Asian Games is about to open the curtain of table tennis competitions, and the competition between the Chinese and Japanese national teams has attracted much attention. In recent interviews, Japanese table tennis players expressed their expectations for the upcoming tournament, and some of them boasted of "bringing down the Chinese team." However, Tomokazu Changmoto, Miu Hirano and Hina Hayada, who have performed well in recent years, appear relatively low-key, which makes many fans wonder: Are the more modest players are more powerful?
As we all know, in recent years, Japanese women's table tennis has been ranked second in the world, and although Japanese men's table tennis is slightly inferior in strength, it can also rank in the top four. In the Asian Games, the chances of Japanese athletes winning medals have greatly increased due to the absence of strong opponents such as Germany, Sweden and France.
However, these medals tend to be silver and bronze, not gold. This is because the Chinese table tennis team is strong, and it is extremely difficult for table tennis associations in other countries to win a gold medal. However, some Japanese players seem to have a different view on this.
In interviews with the media, at least three of the main players of the Japanese table tennis team boldly shouted the slogan "Down with the Chinese team". Among them are 30-year-old world champion veteran Maharu Yoshimura, national champion Hayasuke Togami, and young rookie Miyu Nagasaki.
Maharu Yoshimura was the best of the three, even beating China's Grand Slam player Ma Long this year, despite being suppressed by China for most of the time. Hayasuke Togami has so far failed to challenge the main player of the Chinese team. Miyu Nagasaki defeated Zhu Yuling, who had retired from the tournament, in the women's singles and Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu in the women's doubles, but these victories occurred many years ago, and their current threat level is actually relatively limited.
In contrast, the current higher-ranked players in the world have taken a more cautious approach. Although Hina Hayata is eager to compete for the gold medal, she also admits that it will be very difficult to beat the Chinese team. Jang Benjihe has injuries and said he wants to come step by step and aim to fight for three medals. Miu Hirano, on the other hand, is more points focused, and her biggest victory is closing the gap with Mimato Ito.
As for Miwa Chang, who is only 15 years old, she does not set too many expectations for herself. She said she was competing to learn and of course fight for a medal, but she was more low-key than her older teammates.
So, is it possible for the Japanese team to break through the copper wall of the Chinese team? This question has attracted a lot of attention, welcome to leave a message to share your predictions for this competition.
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