Japan Women's Race to Tokyo 2020 Singles

So, WTTTC is postponed until at least the end of June ...
(and there is also a deferred Asian Cup ..)
It is very likely that tournaments in Japan, China and Korea will be delayed ...

(the April ITTF rating for TOP-16 WS will be determined mainly by the Qatar Open results ... WTTTC-2018 results remain, and this is a plus for Japan, TPE - С.I.C. ....)

apacible said:

Speaking of Olympic Seeding, another hotly contested race is the Mixed Doubles Seeding Race. Xu/Liu has pretty much has secured the first seed, so now it's a 3-horse race between Japan, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei for the 2nd seed, which is the only way to be guaranteed a draw in the half opposite of China during the Olympics.

After the results from the Hungarian Open, the current WR standings are as follows:
1. Xu/Liu 2880 Points
2. Wong/Doo 2190 Points
3. Cheng/Lin 2090 Points
4. Mizutani/Ito 2075 Points

The Mizutani injury in Hungary not only prevented Japan from possibly getting more ranking points in a tournament without Chinese doubles pairs, but also allowed Hong Kong to get much needed ranking points as they finished 1st in Hungary without Japan or China having a chance to stop them.

The good news for Japan is that the Mixed Doubles ranking for July 2020 will be used for the Olympics. See the photo below for a breakdown of the standings.



Since Mizutani/Ito only started competing in July 2019, none of the points the Japanese pair has earned so far will expire. For Wong/Doo and Cheng/Lin, however, they stand to face deductions from last year's opens such as Qatar, China, HK and Japan. Taiwan's pair is hit the hardest since they were Champions in China and Hong Kong last year and these points will expire before the Olympics start. However, the race between HK and Japan looks really tight.

Only the top 8 tournaments count towards Mixed Doubles Ranking, and it looks more than certain that HK will be able to replace their lowest performance of 80 points with at least a SF finish in one of the future Platinum events, which will push them above Japan in ranking. Japan will need to step up in the Platinum events to keep their lead, but Mizutani's health is the big question mark.

Seeding may eventually be the difference between Olympic Gold, Silver, Bronze or No Medal at all, so the mixed double event in these last few tournaments leading up to the Olympics are crucial.

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That's impressive so how do you calculate? Points over 12 months so for March rankings add whatever points gained in Feb 2020 and subtract Feb 2019 points?

This WTTC is completely wasted.

It's literally been reduced to an Open event now. Since the Olympic singles will be decided by that time, with less than a month left before Tokyo 2020, no teams will risk going all out.

zeio said:

This WTTC is completely wasted.

It's literally been reduced to an Open event now. Since the Olympic singles will be decided by that time, with less than a month left before Tokyo 2020, no teams will risk going all out.

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I wonder what approached can teams have now?

Last real events Qatar and Australia, other than that qualifiers in Asia and other events possible write offs.

Japan Platinum might still be playable

Now it’s hard to count something ...After all, there is still no complete certainty that Tokyo 2020 will not be postponed .....

MaLin2.0 said:

I wonder what approached can teams have now?

Last real events Qatar and Australia, other than that qualifiers in Asia and other events possible write offs.

Japan Platinum might still be playable

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The entire calendar is a mess now.

Qatar Open is nicknamed "mini WTTC" because that's where teams test the water but now that the WTTC is postponed, it's lost its strategic value.

Players can realistically peak 1 to 2 times a year but with the current situation, expect a lackluster year.

Hina Hayata got a long vacation .....
I hope that by June she will not fall out of thirty in the ITTF rating ...
We wish her back as soon as possible!

apacible said:

Yes, that's correct. The new ranking system makes it easier for average Joes like us to compute and predict World Rankings even before the rankings are actually released.



The postponement of the WTTTC is actually good news for her and Japan as it gives her more time to recover from her injury. She might not have been able to play in March but there's a good chance she'll be able to play in June.

In terms of WR and Olympic seeding, the biggest losers of the WTTTC postponement are the players whose best results were in tournaments before July 2019. Examples of some of these players are Liu Shiwen, Wang Manyu, Lin Gaoyuan, and the Cheng/Lin doubles pair. Now that the Australian Open and Korea Open will be postponed to after the Olympics, these players will have less tournaments and therefore, less chances to make up for their expired WR points before the Olympics, which could hurt their Olympic chances or at least their Olympic seeding. The Qatar Open will be the only surefire chance to make up for expired WR points since the statuses of the Japan, China and HK Open are now up in the air.

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Thank you ... As always from you - an exhaustively accurate assessment of the current situation!

The most interesting thing for me in Qatar Open is the struggle for leadership in the ITTF ranking between C.I.C and Ishikawa ...

Vlad Celler said:

Hina Hayata got a long vacation .....
I hope that by June she will not fall out of thirty in the ITTF rating ...
We wish her back as soon as possible!

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Allow her to rest up and recover from injury. She’s not going anywhere anymore, got in the WTTC already, and basically out of the Olympic race. The points are not so important now.
I think she should stay out of the limelight (Hirano too), dig deep to practice and fix her techniques like Ito, figure out why she’s so prone to injuries, and come out next meet with a roar.
The next meaningful match for her this quarter is the final T League tournament, to lead Nissay to a second year championship.

Qatar Open - C.I.C. withdraw,,,Ishikawa, in order to go ahead in the April ITTF ranking, must go at least to SF in Qatar Open ....

Addition - Japanese athletes withdrew their applications for Oman Open ....

Other than CCY for Qatar Open, the entire Taipei team has pulled out of Qatar Open and Oman Open.

The entire JNT has also pulled out of the Oman Open. Kato and a few others have also pulled out of Polish Open.

I am pretty sure that Japan Open will be canceled ... Japan has officially canceled the national table tennis tournaments scheduled for March ....
If so, then the situation with the ITTF rating before the start of Tokyo 2020 will significantly complicate the position of CNT ....

There will probably be some sort 'special seedings' worked out – how it is gonna be done Idk – if the number of canceled Opens before the Olympics (if it continues) rises.

Interesting ... Let's wait a month or two .....So far, of course, the situation favors Japan ....

https://hochi.news/articles/20200226-OHT1T50001.html

張本智和、世界卓球も延期「びっくり」　五輪団体前哨戦メダル計画に狂い
2020年2月26日 6時0分スポーツ報知

　卓球界では東京五輪の前哨戦が延期となった。国際卓球連盟（ＩＴＴＦ）は３月２２～２９日に韓国・釜山で開催予定だった世界選手権団体戦を６月２１～２８日に延期すると発表。２１日に予定通り開催すると表明していたが、釜山でも感染者が確認されたことを受け、１次リーグの組み合わせ抽選を延期するなど対応を協議。「選手、役員、ファンの健康と安全を最優先に」決定した。同時期に予定されていたワールドツアーの韓国オープン（ＯＰ）、オーストラリアＯＰは日程の変更で調整を進めている。

　卓球界初の金メダルを目指す日本の強化計画も修正を迫られた。既に中国で開催予定だった２月末のアジア杯が延期。３月上旬のカタールＯＰ終了後、４月下旬のジャパンＯＰまで約１か月半空き、５月の中国ＯＰなども開催されない可能性がある。五輪のシード権に影響する世界ランクを上げる機会は限られ、実戦感覚の不足も心配される。男子日本代表の倉嶋洋介監督は「正直、先が見えない不安はある。一つずつ対応していくしかない。条件は同じなので、選手には目標を持たせて練習していきたい」と語った。

　選手は困惑しつつも、現状を冷静に受け止めた。男子の張本智和（１６）＝木下グループ＝、女子の伊藤美誠（１９）＝スターツ＝は優勝したハンガリーＯＰから羽田空港に帰国。マスク姿で取材に応じ、伊藤は「安全を考えると（延期は）正しい方法かなと思う」と話し、張本も「少しびっくりしたけど、出られる試合に出てしっかり練習したい」とした。日本協会は合宿を増やすなど、状況に応じた強化を進めていく考えだ。

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In the table tennis world, the rehearsal battle for the Tokyo Olympics has been postponed. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has announced that it will postpone the World Team Table Tennis Championship originally scheduled for March 22-29 in Busan, Korea to June 21-28. It was announced that the event would be held as scheduled on the 21st, but after the confirmed cases of infection in Busan, discussions have been made regarding the response, such as postponing the draw for the first stage. "Health and safety of players, officers and fans are top priorities." The Korea Open and the Australian Open of the World Tour scheduled for the same period are being adjusted by changing the schedule.

Japan's strengthening plan for the first gold medal in the table tennis world has also been forced to revise. The Asian Cup at the end of February, which was already scheduled in China, has been postponed. After the end of Qatar Open in early March, there is a possibility that about one and a half months will be available until the Japan Open in late April, and it is possible China Open will not be held in May. Opportunities to improve the world ranking that affects the Olympic seeding are limited, and there is concern over the lack of practical match feeling. Japan's men's coach Yosuke Kurashima said, "honestly, I'm worried that I can't see where I'm heading. I have to deal with them one by one. Since the conditions are the same, I want to give the players a goal in practice."

The players calmly perceived the current situation, while being confused. Harimoto Tomokazu (16) = Kinoshita Group = and Ito Mima (19) = Starts = return to Haneda Airport after winning Hungarian Open. In response to the interview with their masks on, Ito said, "I think it's the right way to take safety into account (postponement)." Harimoto said, "I was a little surprised, but I want to practice well in a match that I can play." The Japan Association intends to increase the number of training camps and strengthen in accordance with the situation.

https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/sports/table-tennis/1756725/

【卓球】世界選手権団体戦が延期　張本「練習がよくできる」
2020年02月26日 16時40分

　卓球ニッポンにとって吉か凶か――。感染が拡大する新型コロナウイルスの影響を受けて卓球の世界選手権団体戦（３月２２～２９日、韓国）の延期も発表されたが、現場は困惑している。

　ワールドツアー・ハンガリーオープン（ＯＰ）を終えて２５日に帰国した男子代表の倉嶋洋介監督（４３）は「今の状況だと、どの大会があってどの大会がなくなるのか全然分からないし、（大会が）なくなっていくことが多くなると思う」と指摘。現時点で６月２１日から２８日までの代替開催が検討されており、韓国ＯＰ（６月１６～２１日）の中止は必至。オーストラリアＯＰ（同２３～２８日）も“玉突き”で日程変更となる可能性が高い。

　それだけでなく５月の香港ＯＰ、中国ＯＰも開催は厳しい状況。同監督は「本心は怖い。今後、先が見えないし、分からないので。その部分ですごく不安はあるけど、選手にはちゃんと目標を持たせて練習はしていきたい」と胸中を明かした。東京五輪団体戦で中国に続く第２シード確保を目指す男子代表は、試合数が減るとポイント獲得の機会を逃すという問題にも直面する。

　しかし、ネガティブ要素ばかりでもなさそうだ。同代表の張本智和（１６＝木下グループ）は「逆に言えば、練習がよくできるということ」ときっぱり。さらに最大のライバル・中国勢について「僕たちがどう対策するか分からないと思うし、中国選手も大きな変わりはないと思う。僕たちがたくさん変化して、本番で生かせばこういう状況もプラスになるのかな」と捉えている。

　帰国できない中国代表を日本国内に受け入れることはすでに発表済み。トップ選手のプレーを目にする機会が増えれば、攻略法も幅が広がる。ピンチをチャンスに変えられるか。

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Is it good or bad for table tennis Nippon? The postponement of the World Table Tennis Championships (March 22-29, South Korea) has been announced due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, but the scene is confusing.

After returning from the World Tour Hungarian Open (OP) on the 25th, the men's team manager Yosuke Kurashima (43), said, "Given the current situation, I can't tell which tournament will vanish and which one will not but I think the former will become more common." At this moment, alternatives from June 21 to 28 are being considered, and it is inevitable that the Korean OP (June 16-21) will be cancelled. It is highly likely that the Australian OP (23-28) will be rescheduled.

In addition, the opening of Hong Kong OP and China OP in May is grim. The coach said, "I'm scared. I can't see or know where I'm going. I'm very worried about that, but I'd like to keep my players on target in practice." Men seeking to secure the second seed following China at the Tokyo Olympics team event also faces the problem of losing points when the number of matches decreases.

However, it seems that it is not all negative. Harimoto Tomokazu (16 = Kinoshita Group) said, "Conversely, you can practice well." On China, "We don't know what measures we will take, but I don't think the Chinese players are going to change that much. We'll have a lot of variations, if we can put them into practice, then it'll get better?"

It has already been announced that the Chinese representatives who won't return will be accepted in Japan. The more opportunities to see top players play, the wider the strategy. Can you turn a pinch into an opportunity?

Reporters are required to wear masks and stay 3 meters away from players.

https://www.chunichi.co.jp/chuspo/article/sports/news/CK2020022502100131.html

　23日まで行われたハンガリー・オープンに出場していた張本智和（木下グループ）はこの日帰国。新型コロナウイルス対策として、報道陣はマスク着用の上、選手から3メートル以上離れての取材を厳命された。張本は世界選手権が五輪直前に変更されたことについて、「2カ月の間に2つの大きな大会がある。ことしは、その2カ月に懸ける気持ちで出し切りたい」と決意を新たにした。

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Ito feels there will be less and less tournaments before the Olympics.

https://www.chunichi.co.jp/chuspo/article/sports/news/CK2020022502100130.html

　23日まで行われたハンガリー・オープンで女子シングルスを制した伊藤美誠（みま、19）＝スターツ＝はこの日、羽田空港に帰国。「今後、どうなるかわからない。どの大会が中止や延期になるのか。五輪前の試合数は減ると思う」と複雑な心境を吐露した。

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https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/sports/table-tennis/1756437/