Up until tonight, XinWen never lost to MimaJun.
Korea Open 2019 SF 3-1
Australian Open 2019 R16 LSW withdrew
Swedish Open 2019 F 3-2
WTGF 2019 F 3-2
German Open 2020 F 3-1
Tokyo 2020 F 3-4, 0:8 opening.
The way Japan progressed to the final and won its first-ever gold medal in table tennis(a 33-year wait) resembles how
Hong Kong won its first-ever gold medal in fencing today. Cheung Ka Long beat the reigning world no. 1 in R16(his previous best at Rio 2016), made a miracle comeback in the QF from 9:14 to win 15:14, got through the SF with a solid win, and then defeated the defending Olympic champion he had never beaten before in the final(2 losses in 2013, 2017).
A difficult draw turns out to be better at the Olympics...(looking at WCT/DHK 😭) Harimoto: So true!(Pitchford ousted by Jorgic, Gnanasekaran ousted by Lam Siu Hung, and Lam Siu Hang ousted by Harimoto) Were he in the lower half, Jang Woojin would've been waiting.
LGL said the following in
another interview in Jan 2019:
@2:12
But in terms of the global trend
there has been a huge shift
due to the reemergence of Japan
There's also Korea and Germany
and these up and coming Europeans
Originally, China should be way ahead of the pack
which is the reason we could dominate in the last 3 Olympics
However, the reemergence of Japan can be felt
closing the gap inch by inch
On some occasions
we don't even have any advantage
Even more, the opponent has home advantage and they're also younger
still with many possibilities
So for the next 1.5 years, I'll have to rack my brain
to evaluate these possibilities, the upper limits
and our potentials, our concerns
What are the challenges preparing for Tokyo 2020?
Perhaps folks have gotten used to China winning
especially in the past 2 decades
dominating in the past 3 Olympics
Do you think Japan, as the host, in Tokyo
can stand listening to the "March of the Volunteers" 5 times?
seeing the China's flag high up?
Are they convinced by that?
It's not like they're unconvinced now
They've been unconvinced for the past 2 decades
So in my opinion, as the opponent, it's all or nothing at times like this
Or death match, in other words
No matter what, they have to take the gold medal from the CNT
As to which one(s) they take
they're calculating, and so are we
The CNT is different from others
because we have so many outstanding players
As to who will participate, the internal competition is very fierce
Take the women's for example
There are 7 key players
Why does Ito have it better?
Because she's a raw-pips player
But for our 7 key players, they're all double-inverted
Hence, to a large extent, it's hard to blame them
for putting their focus more on internal competition
So despite the focus now is on Mima Ito
on the objectives and specifics of the counter measures
it's IMO they've not done their best
Internal competition, if done right, is a good thing
But say you don't, there could be run-ins
that could affect the team
But for Japan, it's more clear
Say Mima Ito and Tomokazu Harimoto
it's very clear these 2 will play (in Tokyo 2020)
Basically, the game plan is built around these 2
But for us
the surface area is relatively broader
This is what I say the difference between the inner and outer sides
There's also what I just mentioned
the gap b/w the 2 teams is closing
Because it appears the CNT has gotten used to winning
dropping 1 match or 1 gold
People might feel we've failed
But for them(Japan)
getting 1 gold is a breakthrough
getting 2 golds is a huge success
They definitely don't want to return empty-handed
I'd rather overestimate the opponent than the opposite
Underestimating the opponent is IMO the most asinine
Japan has gotten 3 gold medals on day 3, and
tops the medal table with 8 gold/2 silver/3 bronze. An impressive start.