Takemori Akira, who has been nominated for Japan at the Tokyo Paralympics table tennis, participated in a domestic tournament held in Kanagawa Prefecture and won straight in all men's singles games for the first time in five years. ..
27-year-old Takemori is ranked 7th in the world ranking of the top Japanese players in the para table tennis and intellectual disability classes, and was appointed as the representative of Japan for the Tokyo Paralympics last year.
Takemori participated in the para table tennis and intellectual disability class held in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture on the 13th.
Takemori steadily won the men's singles qualifying league and the final tournament, and in the final, he played against a player with a play style called "Cutman" who hits under the ball and persistently returns the opponent's ball.
Takemori took the first game 11 to 8 and competed until the end of the second game, but in the end of the game he decided a strong forehand in a row and took it 11 to 9.
In the third game, he gave only one point to his opponent, took 11 to 1, and won the fifth straight victory with a game count of 3 to 0 for the first time in five years.
According to the Japan Intellectually Disabled Table Tennis Federation, it is highly likely that this tournament will be the last official game for Takemori before the Paralympics, but it was stable without losing one game in all seven games throughout the qualifying league. He showed his strength and gave momentum to the Paralympics.
Takemori said, "I'm confident that I won the championship for the first time in five years, and I'm really happy because I was only thinking about getting through my play. This victory is waiting for the stage of the Tokyo Paralympics. I think it's the beginning, not the end. At the Paralympics, I want to aim for a medal and play in good condition. "