Sun Yingsha and the "English teacher" traveled to Nagoya together, a leisurely time before the women's finals
Japanese media reported that Mr. Ai Fukuhara, as the Japan General Manager of the World Table Tennis Federation (WTT) in Japan, has made an important contribution to the bid and success of the 2023 WTT Nagoya Women's Finals. This is the first time that Japan has hosted a WTT event: "We will use the strength of our home stadium to compete with Chinese players. ”
Sun Yingsha, Hina Hayada and other contestants were busy in the bright morning sunshine and visited Nagoya Castle.
Sun Yingsha and her little friend Diaz played the game of catching stones and throwing sandbags, and they were very happy. Sabao also proudly introduced: "My [English] teacher is from Puerto Rico".
Hina Hayada is particularly funny, is the three-person cartoon look Super Mario?
The women's WTT Finals, which is ranked high in the table tennis world rankings, will kick off at the Nagoya Kaneshiro Pier Arena on the 15th. Two-time Olympic medalist and two-time Olympic medalist and two-time Olympic medalist WTT Japan General Manager Ai Fukuhara (35 years old) was interviewed by Sports News on the 13th, talking about the highlights of this event and expectations for Japanese athletes.
In Japanese singles, Hina Hayada (23), ranked No. 5 in the world, Misei Ito (23), ranked No. 10 at Starts, and Mikazu Haramoto (15), No. 14 from Kinoshita Gakuen, will take part in the tournament. The International Table Tennis Championship is coming back to Japan.
Mr. Fukuhara was appointed General Manager of WTT Japan in January last year, and she has used her experience as a player to drive the success of the event. Competing "behind the scenes" for the first time, she expressed her feelings: "It's a weird feeling. Whether it is the actor or the commentator, it is a very incredible mood that is different from the audience. I sincerely hope that everyone will not be hurt and that it will be held smoothly until the last day. ”
The World Table Tennis Tour has been hosted by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in the past, but since 2021 it has been hosted by the official organization WTT, and the framework has undergone significant changes. The entertainment value of the event has been enhanced, including sound and production, and the prize money has also increased to a total of 340,000 US dollars (about 50 million yen).
The WTT Nagoya Women's Finals is the first international event to be held in Japan since the World Cup team event in November 2019. This will be the first time a WTT event has been held in Japan. Ai Fukuhara expressed her hope: "I am very happy that this tournament has taken another step forward in the status of international table tennis events. I hope to convey the charm of table tennis to as many people as possible. ”
The competition consists of two events, singles and doubles, with Hina Hayata, Misei Ito and Miwa Zhang participating in the 16-person singles event. Seven Chinese players also participated in the competition.
Ai Fukuhara: "I think it's going to be a tough fight, but I hope they can take advantage of Japan's home advantage and compete with the Chinese players. ”
As General Manager of Japan, Ai Fukuhara also expressed her desire for future development: "WTT has a lot of different series. This is the first one. I hope to hold a lot of different competitions in Japan, including the men's competition. ”
Ping Pong Hu Qingyuan