WTT Star Contender Chennai-2025

[Catenaccio]

Hashimoto now ranked No. 18 despite having played only 7 WTT tournaments over the last 12 months. Hope she can participate in more events going forward.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Hashimoto is only 50 points away from Kihara. This is important because Kihara is the 6th highest ranked Japanese woman. The NER limit for Grand Smashes is 6 players per member association so Hashimoto is essentially fighting Kihara to get into the Smash events where greater prize money and ranking points up for grabs. Hashimoto is listed as entered in Contender Taiyuan (along with Nagasaki and Yokoi in the Main Draw). Kihara is not. The competition is heating up!

 

[Catenaccio]

Hashimoto is only 50 points away from Kihara. This is important because Kihara is the 6th highest ranked Japanese woman. The NER limit for Grand Smashes is 6 players per member association so Hashimoto is essentially fighting Kihara to get into the Smash events where greater prize money and ranking points up for grabs. Hashimoto is listed as entered in Contender Taiyuan (along with Nagasaki and Yokoi in the Main Draw). Kihara is not. The competition is heating up!

I think Hashimoto will overtake Kihara sooner rather than later. Looking at the participants of Contender Taiyuan, Hashimoto has a good chance of reaching the final if the draw is decent. In addition, Kihara will drop 120 (175-55) points on 13 May and 105 (140-35) points on 27 May whereas Hashimoto will only drop 45 points on 20 May and 85 points on 27 May.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Interesting alliances are forming. I think Yoshimura and Odo are positioning themselves as one of, if not the best, Japanese XD pairing by beating Sora / Miwa and making the Finals here ahead of the WTTC.

 

[NextLevel]

Interesting alliances are forming. I think Yoshimura and Odo are positioning themselves as one of, if not the best, Japanese XD pairing by beating Sora / Miwa and making the Finals here ahead of the WTTC.

They are not on an LA 2028 timeline, at best, Odo is putting her best foot forward, but it is unlikely Yoshimura will be her partner even if she made it.

 

[zeio]

That is a weird metric to use to gauge the 2 pairs.

As much as I don't regard Matsushima highly, his pairing with Harimoto has reached the XD F at SGP GS 2025 (put up a fight against LSS/KM) and beat 2 CNT pairs to win WTT SCT Doha 2025 (Huang Youzheng/Shi Xunyao and Chen Yuanyu/Chen Yi).

Both pairs have lost to PRK pairs at ATTC 2024, Ham Yu Song/Pyon Song Gyong for Matsushima/Harimoto and Ri Jong Sik/Kim Kum Yong for Yoshimura/Odo, so both pairs have got some work to do.

Senior Mixed Doubles Pairs

www.ittf.com

WR8 Matsushima/Harimoto
WR22 Yoshimura/Odo

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

They are not on an LA 2028 timeline, at best, Odo is putting her best foot forward, but it is unlikely Yoshimura will be her partner even if she made it.

But at least they will pair up for the WTTC. And this advertises Odo's XD prowess.

 

[NextLevel]

But at least they will pair up for the WTTC. And this advertises Odo's XD prowess.

Yeah, but she needs a truly ambitious partner like Shinozuka or Togami.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Still a ways down the road, but at least this gives Japan options. Problem with having Miwa doing everything (singles, XD, teams), is that she can spread herself thin as well as become susceptible to injury like Hina was.

 

[zeio]

If anything, Harimoto is the sturdiest after Hirano. In terms of physical gift, Harimoto is in line with Nagasaki and Kihara. It will be harder than Ito had it at Tokyo 2020, like how Paris 2024 was harder for Hayata and Hirano, but at the age of 20, LA 2028 is actually the best time for Harimoto to take on 3 events.

Compared to Matsushima, who had at least played well at WTTC 2024, Odo has not proven her worth in higher-tier competitions.

 

[zeio]

You know, I remember the good old days when zeio used to contribute translations of CNT post-match interviews to the forums. Those were amazing!

But he said that was too much work and now he just flames everybody.

Zeio is past his prime and should probably retire.

Be honest with yourself. When you flamed me, had you read Winter's Instagram posts on her LA 2028 goal? Because from your post, it felt more like you were making many assumptions.

In case you and many here haven't had the chance, I've shared some of the inner workings and the efforts I had to put in as a one-man army to get those translated interviews and tutorials done beside having to deal with the strikes from Japanese TV stations such as NHK and TV Asahi, on top of the underappreciation of the translation/interpretation profession, as evidenced by your "past his prime" comment.

Be grateful I persevered as long as I did until the pandemic hit the world and everything came to a halt, at which point the golden generation had started maturing and the work of JTTA coming to fruition that I felt it was about time to turn my attention to Japanese table tennis as I'd already observed for several years and gave my honest and educated opinions on what they could do better, just as Hayata has mentioned that even her then-coach Ishida watching in the coaching corner could not see everything and may notice some things if he watched from a different angle. As the Chinese proverb goes, 當局者迷，旁觀者清。

早田ひな 五輪選考ポイント独走「自分がやってきたことが間違っていなかった」 【卓球 全農CUP】
https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/tabletennis/news/2023/07/029296.html
1回戦ゲームオールで勝利の早田ひな「危ない試合」ベンチコーチ変更の狙いも明かす【卓球 WTTチャンピオンズ】
https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/tabletennis/news/2023/10/031718.html

 

[Dr Evil]

...In terms of physical gift, Harimoto is in line with Nagasaki and Kihara...

The 16 year old world number 5 is in line with Nagasaki and Kihara? How do you figure that?

 

[zeio]

The 16 year old world number 5 is in line with Nagasaki and Kihara? How do you figure that?

Per Ito's comment on Harimoto in 2025 and Miyazaki's comment on Nagasaki in 2018 when those two were about the same age. See quotes below.

Ito also mentioned the need of countermeasures for taller players after she got shut out by Hayata at Zennoh Cup Osaka in 2023 (first and only loss in the Road to Paris selection race).

【卓球】伊藤美誠　3年ぶり日本一ならず涙「悔しい」　強すぎ16歳・張本美和に脱帽
https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2025/01/26/kiji/20250126s00026000088000c.html

　前日（25日）の平野美宇（木下グループ）との準々決勝では、マッチポイントを握られながら執念の逆転勝ち。準決勝に向けて「（張本は）今、一番伸びていて成長が早い選手。完全なチャレンジャーで臨みたい」と意気込んでいた。

　第1ゲームを4―11で落とすと、第2ゲームも3―11と大差をつけられた。第3ゲームも4―11で崖っぷちに追い込まれると、16歳の勢いを止められずにストレート負けを喫した。

　「思い切りいく前に決められて、悔しい部分がある。完全な実力不足もあるし、自分がどういう選手に勝つか負けるかが明確になった試合だった」と涙を浮かべ、「（張本は）体力もあるし、年齢以上に落ち着いている。若かったら当たりがいい時と悪い時があるけど、ずっと安定している。日本選手の中で1、2番というくらい質が高い。歯が立たないというか…」と16歳に脱帽していた。

On the previous day (25th) in the quarterfinal against Hirano Miu (Kinoshita Group), she was faced with a match point but managed to come from behind to win. Looking ahead to the semifinal, she was enthusiastic, saying, "(Harimoto) is the player who is currently growing the fastest. I want to go into the semifinal as a complete challenger."

After losing the first game 4-11, she was also trailing by a large margin in the second game at 3-11. In the third game, she was also pushed to the brink at 4-11, and was unable to stop the 16-year-old's momentum and lost in straight games.

"It's frustrating that it was decided before I could go all out. I'm completely lacking in skill, and this match made it clear to me what kind of player I can win or lose against," she said with tears in her eyes. "(Harimoto) has good stamina and is calmer than her age. When at a young age, there are good and bad times, but she's always been consistent. She's the best or second best in [shot] quality among Japanese players. I mean, I am no match for her..." she said, taking her hat off to the 16-year-old.

世界卓球代表に１５歳の“ポストみうみま”　中学３年・長崎美柚を大抜てき
https://www.daily.co.jp/general/2018/03/10/0011056657.shtml

　会見した宮崎義仁強化本部長は「（長崎は）最近急成長していて、１７歳トリオ（伊藤、平野、早田）の次の世代を引っ張るのではないかと大きな期待を持って承認した」と説明。プレーについても「現時点で、日本選手では間違いなく１番ボールの威力がある。（攻撃的なバックハンド技術の）チキータも１番うまくて威力もあり、最新技術を身につけている。フィジカルも強い。日本人離れした選手」と期待を込めた。

Miyazaki Yoshihito, head of the development headquarters, explained at the press conference, "(Nagasaki) has been growing rapidly recently, and we have high hopes that she will lead the next generation after the 17-year-old trio (Ito, Hirano, Hayata)." Regarding her play, he said, "At the moment, she has definitely the most powerful shot among Japanese players. She also has the No. 1 powerful chiquita (aggressive backhand technique), and has mastered the latest techniques. She is also physically strong. She is a player who is beyond the Japanese."

---

Full album
htts://www.imgur.com/a/QMoARIu

Miyazaki: Strong physique

Fastest shot in Japan

After Miu, Mima, and Hina

The player who will lead the next generation