Catching up.
TAKAGI Mina has more on
Togami's internal struggle seen in the mixed-zone interview after his win over Jorgic at WTTC 2025.
KONNO Noboru also posted a snippet of his interview with Togami back in 12/2024.
戸上隼輔 重圧を越えて涙と勝利のベスト8入り。自身初の単メダル獲得へ爆進！【世界卓球】
https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/tabletennis/news/2025/05/037970.html
日本のエース張本智和（トヨタ自動車／世界ランク4位）との3回戦に4-1で勝利。勝ちはしたものの同士討ちの苦しさを「本当に複雑な心境。自分との戦いだった」と吐露した。
そして、21日（木）に行われた4回戦ではスロベニアの難敵ヨルギッチ（世界ランク10位）をフルゲーム12-10の死闘で下し、直後のインタビューでは言葉を詰まらせた。
「（3回戦で）張本選手に勝って次も勝てるかというと正直、自信はなかった。負けたらどうしようという気持ちがあって、張本選手に託したほうが良かったんじゃないかとも思いました」
目には光る涙。両手で何度も頬を叩き自身を奮い立たせようとするが、込み上げる感情をどうにも抑えきれない。
コート上の闘志あふれるプレーからは想像しにくいが、「自分よりも張本の方が......」というネガティブな考えもあったという。
根底にあるのは昨夏のパリ五輪で味わった、いかんともしがたい悔しさだ。
初出場のひのき舞台でシングルス3回戦敗退、団体戦も4位に終わり日本のメダル獲得に貢献できなかった。
あれから9ヵ月が経った今も自身の不甲斐なさを完全には拭いきれずにいる。
「すごい責任を感じて、卓球をしていて本当にいいのかなと思った時期もあった」と涙声の戸上。
しかし、昨年から主戦場にしているドイツ・ブンデスリーガで何度も対戦し、お互いの手の内を知るヨルギッチに、世界卓球の大舞台で競り勝ったことで迷いは吹っ切れた。
He won the 3rd round against Japan's ace Harimoto Tomokazu (Toyota Motors/WR4) 4-1. Despite the win, he confessed the pain of fighting his friend, saying,
"I have really mixed emotions. It was a battle with myself."
Then, in the 4th round on the 21st (Thu), he defeated Slovenia's tough opponent Jorgic (WR10) in a fierce full-game battle with a score of 12-10, and was at a loss for words in the interview immediately after.
"After beating Harimoto (in the 3rd round), I honestly wasn't confident that I could win again. I was worried about what would happen if I lost, so I thought it would be better to leave it to Harimoto."
Tears well up in his eyes. He slaps his cheeks repeatedly with both hands to cheer himself up, but he just can't contain the emotions welling up inside him.
It's hard to imagine from his fighting spirit on the court, but he also had negative thoughts like
"Harimoto is better than me..."
At the root of this is the inescapable regret he felt at last summer's Paris Olympics.
In his first appearance at the big stage, he lost in the 3rd round of the singles and finished 4th in the teams, failing to contribute to Japan's medal win.
9 months have passed since then, but he still can't completely wipe away his disappointment.
"I felt a great sense of responsibility, and there was a time when I wondered if I was really doing the right thing by playing table tennis," says a tearful Togami.
However, after beating Jorgic on the biggest stage of the WTTC, where he has faced him many times in the German Bundesliga, where he has been playing mainly since last year, and knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses, he was able to overcome his doubts.
【世界卓球】メダルまであと数cm。戸上隼輔が超えたハードルと、超えられなかった壁
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/487e0f3541fd9efb37af0a1419dc2af4ac155e2f
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
●ーそういう選手たちとやれることを求めてドイツに行った部分もありますよね。
戸上 もちろんそうです。最近、ヨーロッパの選手がランキングでも上位に入っているし、なぜ彼らが強くなっているかを知りたい部分もありました。
●ーキーワードは「対応力」ですね。ルブラン兄弟にインタビューした時も、「女子選手とやるのも、表ソフトでも粒高でも平気」と言ってました。
戸上 試合をするのも対応能力を上げる手段だし、ドイツに来て、いろいろな選手と練習するのもやはり対応力を上げる手段です。いろいろな回転のサービス、レシーブが来てもいろいろな返球方法を選択できる。
ルブランとめったに練習できないのに、ドイツに来たことで合宿ができたりとか、彼らの練習方法を盗むことができて、発見がたくさんあって面白いですね。
●ー当初、練習量に対する不安はあったにせよ、いろいろな気づきがあった半年間だったんですね。
戸上 本当に充実してますね。せっかくブンデスリーガに来たので、新しい環境でやりたかったし、日本のみんなに今の自分を見てほしいですね。大きくは変わっていないけど、ちょっと変わった戸上隼輔を見てもらいたいですね。（卓球王国PLUSより抜粋）
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
戸上は一つのハードルを越え、メダルという大きな壁の前に手をかけながらも、あと一歩で乗り越えることはできなかった。
プロとしての道を歩み始めたとはいえ、「お金ではなく、強くなることが先。お金は強くなった後についてくるもの」という考え方を貫いている。
卓球に対してピュアに向き合う戸上は、ドイツでの練習を積み重ね、そして新たに上田仁というコーチを迎えた。ここからが本当のスタートだ。
メダルの壁を越える日は、きっと近い。
今回のドーハ大会は、戸上隼輔がそれだけのポテンシャルを持つ選手であることを、はっきりと証明する舞台となった。
今野 昇（卓球王国発行人）
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
●-You went to Germany partly because you wanted to play with those kinds of players, right?
Togami: Of course. Recently, European players have been ranking high in the rankings, and I wanted to know why they are getting stronger.
●-The keyword is "ability to adapt", right? When I interviewed the Lebrun brothers, they said, "I'm fine with playing with female players, with shortpips rubber, or with longpips rubber."
Togami: Playing matches is a way to improve my adaptability, and coming to Germany and practicing with various players is also a way to improve my adaptability. Even if I get a serve or receive with various spins, I can choose various ways to return the ball. Even though I rarely get to practice with Lebrun, coming to Germany has allowed me to hold a training camp and steal their training methods, and I discovered a lot of interesting things.
●-Even though you were worried about the amount of practice at first, it was a half-year period where you realized a lot of things.
Togami: It's really fulfilling. Since I came to the Bundesliga, I wanted to play in a new environment, and I want everyone in Japan to see me now. Though not much has changed, I'd like you to see a slightly different Togami Shunsuke. (Excerpt from Table Tennis Kingdom PLUS)
Togami has overcome one hurdle and is in front of the big medal wall, but he was just one step away from overcoming it. Even though he has started on his path as a professional, he is committed to the idea that "it's not money, but getting stronger first. Money comes after you get stronger."
Togami, who has a pure approach to table tennis, has been training hard in Germany and has a new coach, Ueda Jin. This is the real start.
The day when he overcomes the medal wall is surely near. This Doha tournament was a stage that clearly proved that Togami Shunsuke is a player with that kind of potential.
Konno Noboru (Publisher of Table Tennis Kingdom)
