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."

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[tackyfh]

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. 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)
Hayata
World Cup 2024 - ?
Ito
World Cup 2016 - QF (1-4 Hirano)
World Cup 2020 - Bronze
World Cup 2024 - ?

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

 

[tackyfh]

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?