JTTA: Selection System to be Revamped for Paris 2024

[zeio]

平野美宇「自分を褒めたい」初のシングルス五輪代表つかむ ! 伊藤美誠は16強で無念の敗退【全日本卓球】
https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/963712

試合後、「素直にうれしい」と笑顔をみせた平野はシングルス代表獲得について「東京五輪の時は全日本で優勝したり、国際大会で優勝したが3位だった。今回もその状況にならないように諦めないでやって来たので、自分を褒めたい」と喜びをかみしめた。さらに「人間的にも成長したし、一つ乗り越えたなと思う。シングルスに出場するからには中国選手に勝ってメダルを取りたい」と力強く語った。

After the match, Hirano smiled and said, "I'm honestly happy," and expressed his joy at winning the singles national team, saying, "At the Tokyo Olympics, I won the All Japan Championships and won the international tournament, but I finished third. He also emphatically stated, "I've grown as a person, and I think I've overcome one thing, and since I'm going to compete in singles, I want to beat the Chinese players and win a medal."

「自分を変える」「逃げない」「自分に活」…「大人」の平野美宇語録〔全日本卓球〕
https://www.jiji.com/jc/v8?id=20240127sp-ttajmiusp

メダルのため、また自分に活

【第６日（２７日）、大会を終えて】

　準々決勝で赤江夏星（デンソー）に３―４で敗れ、今大会の日程を終了。「表彰台に上がりたかったけど、（今年は）選考会の位置づけがかなり大きくて、きのうまでは心が張り裂けそうで、卓球をやめた時も忘れられない全日本だと思います」

　相手は４歳下の１９歳だった。「私たちの世代が真ん中ぐらいになってきて、若い世代が出て来るのは時代の流れかなと。私たちが１５、１６歳頃からやっている高速卓球を小さい時からやっているので、私もスピードだけじゃなくて試合のつくり方などを考えないと勝つのは難しい」

　パリ五輪まで半年。「成長しないとメダルは取れないので、今の自分じゃ取れないぞと自分に活を入れて、勝つことよりまずは成長を優先しながら勝つことを目指して」

（時事通信社全日本卓球取材班、構成・若林哲治）（2024.1.27）

Motivating herself again for the medal

[After the tournament on the 6th day (27th)]

Losing 3-4 to Akae Kaho (DENSO) in the quarterfinals, this tournament's schedule came to an end. "I wanted to be on the podium, but (this year) the selection tournament was very important, and until yesterday I felt like my heart was about to burst, and I think the All-Japan Championships will be one I will never forget even when I quit table tennis."

Her opponent was 19 years old, 4 years younger than her. "Our generation is in the middle, and I think it's the trend of the times that the younger generation is coming on. We've been playing high-speed table tennis since we were 15 or 16 years old, so I've been playing it since I was little, so it's difficult for me to win unless I think about how to create a game plan, and not just speed."

6 months until the Paris Olympics. "I can't win a medal unless I grow, so I'm motivating myself by telling myself that I can't win it at my current level, and I'm aiming to win while prioritizing growth over winning."

 

[KiwiPong]

Thank you Zeio for your in depth coverage of the press conference. I feel a little bad for Ito to have suffer injury and ultimately isolating herself from the rest of the "team". When she started off without a coach and sitting alone during one of the previous All Japan draw ceremony, you could tell she was already drifting furthre away from the rest of the players. I hope the best for her in her future, table tennis, or not.

 

[jfolsen]

Trying to parse these interviews. So is Ito actually talking about not playing for Japan on the Teams? Veiled hints she might pack it all in at 23?

 

[Shine]

Ito's style always had limitations, and save for 2 or maybe 3 tournaments where she was able to go on a run against Chinese players; she's largely been subdued even in her heydays.

What we're seeing is just Hayata, Hirano and Harimoto playing high level top-notch shakehand TT. And Ito still playing her floundering error prone TT.

I don't think pressure as a youngster has much to do with the precarious situation she's found herself in. For the last 2 years, it's been obvious that she wasn't the clearcut Japanese No 1 anymore, and she spent time in the sidelines recharging her batteries to go full throttle for the bragging rights. Yet, after every tournament it was one excuse after another. Her style was never consistent against the CNT style; and with the rise of CNT quality counterweights in the team now. Her current situation was only a matter of days.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Ito's style always had limitations, and save for 2 or maybe 3 tournaments where she was able to go on a run against Chinese players; she's largely been subdued even in her heydays.

What we're seeing is just Hayata, Hirano and Harimoto playing high level top-notch shakehand TT. And Ito still playing her floundering error prone TT.

I don't think pressure as a youngster has much to do with the precarious situation she's found herself in. For the last 2 years, it's been obvious that she wasn't the clearcut Japanese No 1 anymore, and she spent time in the sidelines recharging her batteries to go full throttle for the bragging rights. Yet, after every tournament it was one excuse after another. Her style was never consistent against the CNT style; and with the rise of CNT quality counterweights in the team now. Her current situation was only a matter of days.

You can look at it that way, or you can look at it as despite her height and style limitations, she is arguably the most successful Japanese woman to ever play. Who else had a string of 2 or 3 tournaments where she had a run against the top Chinese women? Yes, she plays a high risk/high reward style, but given her style limitations that's what she needs to do, and she maximized that style to be the only Japanese women to win a Olympic Singles medal not to mention partnering with Mizutani to win the only Olympic gold medal in Japanese history (in quite dramatic fashion I might add). No doubt she's had a rough post-Tokyo career, but who else has done what she's done... Kasumi? Fukuhara? Nope. Closest would be Miu Hirano. Mima Ito has made her mark and has been a pioneer for the Japanese women. Japan can look forward to the promising potential of Hirano, Hayata, Miwa, Kihara, and maybe more will step up.

 

[NextLevel]

Ito's style always had limitations, and save for 2 or maybe 3 tournaments where she was able to go on a run against Chinese players; she's largely been subdued even in her heydays.

What we're seeing is just Hayata, Hirano and Harimoto playing high level top-notch shakehand TT. And Ito still playing her floundering error prone TT.

I don't think pressure as a youngster has much to do with the precarious situation she's found herself in. For the last 2 years, it's been obvious that she wasn't the clearcut Japanese No 1 anymore, and she spent time in the sidelines recharging her batteries to go full throttle for the bragging rights. Yet, after every tournament it was one excuse after another. Her style was never consistent against the CNT style; and with the rise of CNT quality counterweights in the team now. Her current situation was only a matter of days.

Given that she essentially drove Zhu Yuling and Ding Ning into early retirement, and also was in many ways the best player outside China for the last decade, it is a bit too one-sided to interpret her career this way. Because while we might like to pretend that only beating China matters, even from Japan, no one else was won a medal in singles at the Olympics until she did. And as much as they have the best players now, it is not a foregone conclusion that Hayata and Hirano can choke. If and when they do, Ito reappreciation will be at its peak. If Japan does find a way to beat China, then the conversation can be meaningfully revisited against Ito.

 

[zeio]

Trying to parse these interviews. So is Ito actually talking about not playing for Japan on the Teams? Veiled hints she might pack it all in at 23?

She hasn't explicitly stated that but she kept saying her goal was to play singles...

She first hinted at not playing WT back in 7/2023 after losing 0-4 to Hayata in the final of Zennoh Cup Tokyo. As for quitting, she first talked about it back in late 7/2022 after WTT CT Zagreb 2022.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...hon-takkyu-2024-1-2228_topic91479_page33.html (07/25/2023 at 3:57pm)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...2-zennoh-cup-top32-9-34_topic91479_page8.html (08/16/2022 at 3:21am)

 

[mikeytt]

Togami with a 4-0 victory over Yuta Tanaka

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Hirano in trouble. Akae up 3-2 as I type this.

 

[zeio]

Given that she essentially drove Zhu Yuling and Ding Ning into early retirement, and also was in many ways the best player outside China for the last decade, it is a bit too one-sided to interpret her career this way. Because while we might like to pretend that only beating China matters, even from Japan, no one else was won a medal in singles at the Olympics until she did. And as much as they have the best players now, it is not a foregone conclusion that Hayata and Hirano can choke. If and when they do, Ito reappreciation will be at its peak. If Japan does find a way to beat China, then the conversation can be meaningfully revisited against Ito.

Ito has actually said that winning a medal at the WTTC is more difficult (IIRC it was after Hayata getting bronze at WTTC 2023).

 

[zeio]

QF
Akae 0-1 -> 2-1 -> 2-2 -> 3-2 -> 3-3 -> 4-3 Hirano
311
115
116
72?, 79, 89, 810, 1110, 1112, 1312, 1313, 1413, 1416
50, 51, 61, 62 dead net for Hirano, 63, 83, 84, 114 Hirano served into the net
02, 22, 25, 35, 310, 410, 411
01, 31, 36 TO for Akae, 76 TO for Hirano, 86, 88, 98, 99, 119 endline edge for Akae

Yokoi 1-0 -> 1-3 -> 4-3 Kimura
711
116
911
58, 88 dead net for Yokoi, 89, 99, 911
114
30, 61, 74, 85, 86, 96, 97, 117
30 TO for Kimura, 40 slight net for Yokoi, 110

Togami 4-0 Tanaka
Yoshimura M. 4-2 Oshima

平野美宇「どっちを選択しても」 ライバル伊藤美誠の引退示唆に心境【卓球全日本選手権】
https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/844341

　過酷な選考レースから一夜明けて、ノーシードから勝ち上がってきた１９歳の勢いを止められなかった。平野は「きょうの試合は、負けてしまったんですけどちょっと楽しかった。昨日までの試合が本当に毎試合、心臓が張り裂けそうな試合だったので…」と笑顔に疲労をにじませた。
　五輪代表を争っていた同世代の伊藤美誠（スターツ）からは、引退を示唆する言葉も出た。平野は「私も伊藤選手も１５歳の時からオリンピックや世界選手権に出ていたりして、普通の人の２３歳よりはすごくベテランっていうか、追われる立場。苦しいことも１０代に比べたらある」とその心情をくみ取り、「簡単には何も言えないですけど、どんな結果でも素晴らしい選手というのは変わりはない。どっちを選択しても本当に尊敬する選手だし、すごい選手だとみんな思っている」とライバルを思いやった。

A day after the grueling selection race, the momentum of the 19-year-old who had risen from unseeded status could not be stopped. "I lost today's match, but it was kind of fun. Every match up until yesterday was really heart-rending..." Hirano said, her smile showing signs of fatigue.

Ito Mima (Starts), who is the same generation and competed for the Olympic representative, also hinted at retirement. Hirano understood her feelings and said, "Both Ito and I have been competing in the Olympics and World Championships since we were 15, so we are much more experienced than the average 23-year-old, and we are in a position where we are being chased. There are also difficult times compared to teenagers," and expressed sympathy for her rival, saying, "It's hard to say, but whatever the result, she will still be a great athlete. No matter what she chooses, she is a player I really respect and everyone thinks she is a great athlete."

 

[mikeytt]

ouch that edge

 

[NextLevel]

Ito has actually said that winning a medal at the WTTC is more difficult (IIRC it was after Hayata getting bronze at WTTC 2023).

Obviously, but still the fact remains that Ishikawa and Fukuhara didnt win anything before Ito did. I agree that Hirano and Hayata did harder things in one sense but Ito's uniqueness is what it is.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Hirano in trouble. Akae up 3-2 as I type this.

Akae wins 11-9 in the 7th on an edge. It's been a while, but I recall Akae being a good player, but she played like an elite player here. Japan has another talented 19 yr old to go along with Kihara, Yokoi, and Odo.

 

[zeio]

Deja vu...

Zennoh Cup Osaka
5-8th
Hirano 4-0 Ito
5-6th
Hirano 3-4 Odo

Zennihon Takkyu 2024
R16
Hirano 4-0 Odo
QF
Hirano 3-4 Akae

 

[driversbeat]

Hirano sure does like falling asleep when there are no stakes. Akae played well though.

 

[fore.n.back]

I hope Uda can drag Harimoto to the final set, those 3 balls from 6-6 to 6-9 are too lucky for Harimoto

 

[mikeytt]

How many edge balls is harimoto going to get, poor Uda

 

[zeio]

Obviously, but still the fact remains that Ishikawa and Fukuhara didnt win anything before Ito did. I agree that Hirano and Hayata did harder things in one sense but Ito's uniqueness is what it is.

Ito is also unique in the way she has never won any continental titles or medals other than the Asian Cup 2022 silver and ATTC 2024 bronze (both without getting past a single CNT player). If not for her Tokyo 2020 bronze, she would rank even lower than Fukuhara and Ishikawa in singles.

Fukuhara
Athens 2004 - R16 (1-4 Kim Kyungah)
Beijing 2008 - R16 (1-4 Zhang Yining)
London 2012 - QF (0-4 Ding Ning)
Rio 2016 - 4th (1-4 Kim Song I, SF 0-4 Li Xiaoxia)
Ishikawa
London 2012 - 4th (0-4 Feng Tianwei, SF 1-4 Li Xiaoxia)
Rio 2016 - R32 (2-0 -> 3-4 Kim Song I)
Tokyo 2020 - QF (1-4 Yu Mengyu)
Hirano
Paris 2024 - ?
Hayata
Paris 2024 - ?
Ito
Tokyo 2020 - Bronze (4-1 Yu Mengyu, SF 1-4 Sun Yingsha)

Fukuhara
World Cup 2005 - Bronze (3-4th 4-1 Tie Ya Na, SF 3-2 -> 3-4 Guo Yan)
World Cup 2006 - QF (0-4 Tie Ya Na)
World Cup 2007 - Lost in Grp
World Cup 2009 - Lost in Grp (4-2 Li Xiaoxia but was edged out in 3-way tie by Liu Jia)
World Cup 2010 - QF (1-4 Guo Yan)
World Cup 2011 - Lost in Grp
World Cup 2012 - Qualified but didn't take part due to political issue
World Cup 2013 - QF (1-4 Wu Yang)
World Cup 2015 - QF (3-4 Petrissa Solja)
Ishikawa
World Cup 2011 - Lost in Grp
World Cup 2012 - Qualified but didn't take part due to political issue
World Cup 2013 - QF (3-4 Feng Tianwei)
World Cup 2014 - Bronze (3-4th 4-3 Georgina Pota, SF 2-4 Ding Ning)
World Cup 2015 - Silver (F 0-4 Liu Shiwen, SF 4-2 Li Jiao, QF Zhu Yuling 1-3 -> 2-4 Li Jiao) IIRC, Li Jiao complained about the scheduling.
World Cup 2017 - R16 (3-4 Lee Ho Ching)
World Cup 2018 - 4th (3-4th 1-4 Cheng I-Ching, SF 0-4 Ding Ning)
World Cup 2019 - QF (3-2 -> 3-4 Feng Tianwei)
Hirano
World Cup 2016 - Gold (F 4-0 Cheng I-Ching, SF 4-2 Feng Tianwei, QF 4-1 Ito, R16 4-2 Samara)
World Cup 2017 - 4th (3-4th 2-4 Cheng I-Ching, SF 0-4 Liu Shiwen)
World Cup 2018 - QF (1-4 Ishikawa)
World Cup 2019 - R16 (3-4 Lily Zhang)
World Cup 2024 - QF (0-4 Chen Meng)
Hayata
World Cup 2024 - QF (1-4 Wang Manyu)
Ito
World Cup 2016 - QF (1-4 Hirano)
World Cup 2020 - Bronze (3-4th 4-0 Han Ying, SF 2-4 Sun Yingsha)
World Cup 2024 - Lost in Grp [2-2 Amy Wang (3, -5, 12, -10), 2-2 S. Sawettabut (12, -9, -3, 6)]
Harimoto
World Cup 2024 - Bronze (SF 2-4 Wang Manyu)

Fukuhara
Asian Games 2006 - QF (3-4 Tie Ya Na)
Asian Games 2010 - Bronze (SF 3-1 -> 3-4 Guo Yue)
Asian Games 2014 - QF (0-3 -> 3-4 Feng Tianwei)
Ishikawa
Asian Games 2014 - QF (1-4 Yang Haeun)
Hirano
Asian Games 2022 - R16 (2-4 Pyong Song Gyong), H2H 1W1L, Hirano 4-1 at Buenos Aires 2018
Hayata
Asian Games 2022 - Silver (F 1-4 Sun Yingsha, SF 4-3 Wang Yidi)
Ito
N/A

 

[fore.n.back]

Tomokazu 4-2 Uda (4,6,-6,-9,8,10)

Great show from both side with exciting rallies but Harimoto won at the end with his fluid defense + attack, he has a lot of lucky balls but I think that attest to his outstanding defense ability amongst Japanese players. For Uda, his Paris dream may have come to an end with this match, but I'm looking forward to his growth. Clearly the conventional 2 winged style doesn't suit him, why bother stepping to his FH side to flick the serve so much when he can't fully make use of the returned ball?