Thread about Japanese Players

[JackJohnson]

yes

A bit of travelling between France and America. Does she have to pay her flights herself or does the teams cover it?

 

[Tony's Table Tennis]

A bit of travelling between France and America. Does she have to pay her flights herself or does the teams cover it?

There are a lot of people traveling in, France/Europe to America is not bad, from Asia is.

Professional clubs cover the flight in full and would cover hotel bills in full should the player arrive few extra days early.

in MLTT, they only subsidies to a certain percentage (there is a cap, but they will never pay in full) on the flight.... and for hotels, only for the eve of the match. If you arrive an extra day early, then it is at your own cost. This is a problem for Asian players and I did raise it as the time zone differences is double of Europeans, but it remains as is.... hopefully it will change in the future when they are able to get more resources

 

[Shine]

I disagree with you.

People have different opinions and we can agree to disagree. I’ll leave it at that.

I'm not sure the coaches agree with you though.

 

[zeio]

I think people are taking the Hashimoto-philia too much. Granted that she'd shown up and shown out in Contenders and star contenders, She hasn't matched Hayata's performances in the majors. She's still far behind Miwa and Hina in the pecking order. And Ito should be ahead of her if she finds the motivation to grind at every tournament.

Unlike Sato (WTTC 2017 and WTTC 2019), Hashimoto hasn't gotten any chance to play in WS of the majors. If she was given Ito's draw (among the easiest) at WTTC 2025, it's not far-fetched to say that she could've gotten a bronze as well.

Since returning to WTT in 2024 (after 2-4 HZJ in WS F of WTT FEE ESS 2022), Hashimoto remained undefeated against CNT players until she met SYS and WMY (11-win streak over CNT players from WTT FEE Olomouc 2024 to USA GS 2025), non-teammates and non-CNT players until 3-4 JCH at WTT Montpellier 2025.

 

[driversbeat]

Unlike Sato (WTTC 2017 and WTTC 2019), Hashimoto hasn't gotten any chance to play in WS of the majors. If she was given Ito's draw (among the easiest) at WTTC 2025, it's not far-fetched to say that she could've gotten a bronze as well.

Since returning to WTT in 2024 (after 2-4 HZJ in WS F of WTT FEE ESS 2022), Hashimoto remained undefeated against CNT players until she met SYS and WMY (11-win streak over CNT players from WTT FEE Olomouc 2024 to USA GS 2025), non-teammates and non-CNT players until 3-4 JCH at WTT Montpellier 2025.

One thing I noticed about Ito's match against WYD at WTTC was that she seemed a lot more like her old self. Taking the initiative to open and rally with her backhand, pounce on loose balls and most importantly it looked like she wanted to win. She still did chop blocks and strategic pushes but as you'd expect when you're mixing things up each strategy becomes that much more effective.

I wondered if she played similarly during her World Cup match against Odo that won her the bronze and sure enough she did. I can't figure out for the life of me why her usual game seems to predictable and monotonous these days, serve heavy backspin and push the return, side swiping every other ball without even bothering to rally.

Makes you wonder how much further she could go with a proper coach. Ditching coach Matsuzaki was probably the worst thing she ever did for her career. She even developed an effective forehand 快带 (fast carry) in 2023 under his guidance, which led to her best performance against SYS since World Cup 2020, but even that technique seems to have been all but ditched.

 

[Catenaccio]

You can find the results of Japanese players at the Feeder in Gdansk here.

Most notably, Hitomi Sato made it to the SF so far, Sato/Yokoi are in the final of WD, and Igarashi/Matsushita are in the final of MD.

EDIT:

Winners of WTT Feeder Gdansk
WS | Hitomi Sato
WD | Hitomi Sato / Sakura Yokoi
MD | Fumiya Igarashi / Taisei Matsushita

 

[Catenaccio]

You can find the results of Japanese players at the Star Contender Muscat here.

 

[mikeytt]

Togami continues to do well in the bundesliga, his record currently at 7-0. He won both matches today in the Pokal (german cup) aswell but it looks like the team will lose 3-2.

With Gauzy and Hugo leaving the team Togami was left as the ace and he is certainly living up to the role at the moment.

 

[NextLevel]

Togami continues to do well in the bundesliga, his record currently at 7-0. He won both matches today in the Pokal (german cup) aswell but it looks like the team will lose 3-2.

With Gauzy and Hugo leaving the team Togami was left as the ace and he is certainly living up to the role at the moment.

Who did they play? IT would be sad if Chirita can't deliver even one score...

NOTE: Just saw it was Levenko and Abiodun besides him... that was a recipe for disaster, never underestimate people in the German league...

But sorry, this is about Japanese players - Go, Togami!

 

[mikeytt]

Who did they play? IT would be sad if Chirita can't deliver even one score...

NOTE: Just saw it was Levenko and Abiodun besides him... that was a recipe for disaster, never underestimate people in the German league...

But sorry, this is about Japanese players - Go, Togami!

update i just saw that they actually won the doubles! they were losing 2-0 when i was writing that post but Levenko and Abiodun turned it around to win 3-2 in the deciding game! togami and co advanced to the next round!

 

[NextLevel]

update i just saw that they actually won the doubles! they were losing 2-0 when i was writing that post but Levenko and Abiodun turned it around to win 3-2 in the deciding game! togami and co advanced to the next round!

Wow.... I was wrong... go, Togami(and Abiodun and Levenko)...

Trying to find the TTBL thread to note Duesseldorf lost but search function not working for me....

 

[mikeytt]

karlsson continues to be the nemesis of JNT, this time defeating uda 3-2

 

[driversbeat]

Mizutani and Hirano Sayaka predict lineups for Japan at Mixed Team Cup

Sayaka
1. Matsushima/Miwa
2. Odo (Reason: Never played WMY and can possibly take 1 game with serves)
3. Tomozaku
4. Togami/Shinozuka
5. Hayata/Ito

Mizutani
1. Matsushima/Miwa
2. Hayata (Potential on the big stage)
3. Tomokazu (Thinks Liang Jingkun will play singles)
4. Matsushima/Togami (Doesn't think the gold medal MD pair are that spectacular)
5. Odo/Miwa (Pair that Japan has been trying to groom and has decent results)

Host
Harimoto siblings (As Xmas present to viewers)
Ito
Matsushima
Togami/Shinozuka
Hayata/Miwa

(Host was criticised for not knowing about Lin Shidong's losing record against Tomozaku and how he was placed in 3rd singles during Asian Champs just to avoid that matchup)

SNS (Social Media Poll)
1. Togami/Hayata
2. Miwa (60%, Hayata 16%, Odo 16%, Ito not even shown but 8%)
3. Tomozaku (62%, Matsushima 35%)
4. Togami/Shinozuka (62%, Matsushima/Togami 12%)
5. Ito/Hayata (52%, Odo/Miwa 26%, Miwa/Hayata 15%)

AI (tendency to look for chances to win 3-0 and seems to rely on prominent news)
1. Hayata/Harimoto
2. Ito
3. Togami
4. Hayata/Miwa (AI picked WD for 4th match while the program decided to go with MD)
5. Togami/Shinozuka

Mine
Odo/Matsushima
Miwa
Tomokazu
Matsushima/Togami
Odo/Hayata

 

[Tempest/Comet]

Goodness, look at Hayata at Narita after Frankfurt. She looked so worn out, what is she doing at Muscat?
(btw hello, it's been a while)

 

[mikeytt]

Togami won 2 in the Bundesliga again, beating Zeljko 3-0 and Habesohn 3-2 👏

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Great win for Miyuu Kihara over Joo Cheonhui to claim the SC Muscat title. The win should move her up in the rankings from WR#23 to WR#16, right behind Miyu Nagasaki.

Although it won't show up as significant progress in her ranking, Sakura Yokoi had a really good tournament. She beat Miyu Nagasaki 3-0. And given how Miyuu Kihara for the most part blew right through Odo and Joo, Sakura taking Miyuu to a decider (which Miyuu won -3,-7,8,11,9) is not bad at all. Still a work in progress, but you can tell she's been working on her long, fast serve (both no spin and top spin) as well as getting better consistency on her ripping BH flick.

 

[NextLevel]

Great win for Miyuu Kihara over Joo Cheonhui to claim the SC Muscat title. The win should move her up in the rankings from WR#23 to WR#16, right behind Miyu Nagasaki.

Although it won't show up as significant progress in her ranking, Sakura Yokoi had a really good tournament. She beat Miyu Nagasaki 3-0. And given how Miyuu Kihara for the most part blew right through Odo and Joo, Sakura taking Miyuu to a decider (which Miyuu won -3,-7,8,11,9) is not bad at all. Still a work in progress, but you can tell she's been working on her long, fast serve (both no spin and top spin) as well as getting better consistency on her ripping BH flick.

Obvious signs of improvement and she looks like someone who wants to content for 2028 now, when before, she was clearly at the bottom of the candidates and was more a tier 3 than than a tier 2. Of course, she needs more results to be taken seriously but this is a good start to being in Tier 2 and it will of course take some more work to get to tier 1 where there are at most 5 players and more seriously 2-3.

 

[NextLevel]

Mizutani and Hirano Sayaka predict lineups for Japan at Mixed Team Cup

Sayaka
1. Matsushima/Miwa
2. Odo (Reason: Never played WMY and can possibly take 1 game with serves)
3. Tomozaku
4. Togami/Shinozuka
5. Hayata/Ito

Mizutani
1. Matsushima/Miwa
2. Hayata (Potential on the big stage)
3. Tomokazu (Thinks Liang Jingkun will play singles)
4. Matsushima/Togami (Doesn't think the gold medal MD pair are that spectacular)
5. Odo/Miwa (Pair that Japan has been trying to groom and has decent results)

Host
Harimoto siblings (As Xmas present to viewers)
Ito
Matsushima
Togami/Shinozuka
Hayata/Miwa

(Host was criticised for not knowing about Lin Shidong's losing record against Tomozaku and how he was placed in 3rd singles during Asian Champs just to avoid that matchup)

SNS (Social Media Poll)
1. Togami/Hayata
2. Miwa (60%, Hayata 16%, Odo 16%, Ito not even shown but 8%)
3. Tomozaku (62%, Matsushima 35%)
4. Togami/Shinozuka (62%, Matsushima/Togami 12%)
5. Ito/Hayata (52%, Odo/Miwa 26%, Miwa/Hayata 15%)

AI (tendency to look for chances to win 3-0 and seems to rely on prominent news)
1. Hayata/Harimoto
2. Ito
3. Togami
4. Hayata/Miwa (AI picked WD for 4th match while the program decided to go with MD)
5. Togami/Shinozuka

Mine
Odo/Matsushima
Miwa
Tomokazu
Matsushima/Togami
Odo/Hayata

1. Uda/Odo
2. Harimoto
3. Matsushima
4. Togami/Shinozuka
5. Ito/Hayata

My lineup is probably illegal lol...

 

[zeio]

Mizutani and Hirano Sayaka predict lineups for Japan at Mixed Team Cup

Sayaka
1. Matsushima/Miwa
2. Odo (Reason: Never played WMY and can possibly take 1 game with serves)
3. Tomozaku
4. Togami/Shinozuka
5. Hayata/Ito

Mizutani
1. Matsushima/Miwa
2. Hayata (Potential on the big stage)
3. Tomokazu (Thinks Liang Jingkun will play singles)
4. Matsushima/Togami (Doesn't think the gold medal MD pair are that spectacular)
5. Odo/Miwa (Pair that Japan has been trying to groom and has decent results)

Host
Harimoto siblings (As Xmas present to viewers)
Ito
Matsushima
Togami/Shinozuka
Hayata/Miwa

(Host was criticised for not knowing about Lin Shidong's losing record against Tomozaku and how he was placed in 3rd singles during Asian Champs just to avoid that matchup)

SNS (Social Media Poll)
1. Togami/Hayata
2. Miwa (60%, Hayata 16%, Odo 16%, Ito not even shown but 8%)
3. Tomozaku (62%, Matsushima 35%)
4. Togami/Shinozuka (62%, Matsushima/Togami 12%)
5. Ito/Hayata (52%, Odo/Miwa 26%, Miwa/Hayata 15%)

AI (tendency to look for chances to win 3-0 and seems to rely on prominent news)
1. Hayata/Harimoto
2. Ito
3. Togami
4. Hayata/Miwa (AI picked WD for 4th match while the program decided to go with MD)
5. Togami/Shinozuka

Mine
Odo/Matsushima
Miwa
Tomokazu
Matsushima/Togami
Odo/Hayata

They still have the habit of thinking in terms of best-case scenario. Are they not aware that the lineup could consist of as few as 2 men and 2 women?

XD M1W1
WS W2
MS M2
WD/MD W1W2/M1M2
MD/WD M1M2/W1W2

https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/upl...p-2025-Competition-Details-Playing-system.pdf

Each player is allowed to play in a maximum of 2 individual matches (doubles and
singles) per team match.

Mizutani
Matsushima/Harimoto2 vs WCQ/SYS
Hayata vs WMY
Harimoto1 vs LJK
Togami/Matsushima vs WCQ/LSD
Harimoto2/Odo vs SYS/WMY

Hirano S.
Matsushima/Harimoto2 vs WCQ/SYS
Odo vs WMY
Harimoto1 vs LSD
Togami/Shinozuka vs WCQ/LSD
Hayata/Ito vs WMY/KM

Fukuzawa
Harimoto1/Harimoto2 vs WCQ/SYS
Ito vs WMY
Matsushima vs LSD
Togami/Shinozuka vs WCQ/LSD
Hayata/Harimoto2 vs SYS/WMY

SNS (Social Networking Service)
1 Togami/Hayata (24%)/2 Matsushima/Harimoto2 (21%)/3 Harimoto1/Hayata (17%)
1 Harimoto2 (60%)/2 Hayata (16%)/2 Odo (16%)
1 Harimoto1 (62%)/2 Matsushima (35%)/3 Togami (3%)
1 Togami/Shinozuka (62%)/2 Matsushima/Shinozuka (12%)/Harimoto1/Matsushima (8%)
1 Ito/Hayata (52%)/2 Harimoto2/Odo (26%)/3 Harimoto2/Hayata (15%)

AI
Harimoto1/Hayata
Ito
Togami
Harimoto2/Hayata
Togami/Shinozuka

 

[driversbeat]

They still have the habit of thinking in terms of best-case scenario. Are they not aware that the lineup could consist of as few as 2 men and 2 women?

XD M1W1
WS W2
MS M2
WD/MD W1W2/M1M2
MD/WD M1M2/W1W2

https://www.ittf.com/wp-content/upl...p-2025-Competition-Details-Playing-system.pdf

Interested to hear what you mean by best-case-scenario