Jun Mizutani, who won the gold medal at the table tennis of the Tokyo Olympics and has announced his intention to retire, participated in the T-League game held in his hometown of Shizuoka prefecture and played in front of his fans.
Mizutani won the first gold medal in Japanese table tennis by pairing with Mima Ito in the mixed doubles of the Tokyo Olympics, and also won the bronze medal in the men's team.
Mizutani announced his intention to retire after the Olympic games due to poor eyesight, and the last two days of the domestic league and T-league games held in his hometown of Shizuoka prefecture on the 23rd and 24th will be the last active players. It was revealed that it would be a match for the Olympic Games.
On the 23rd, as a member of Kinoshita Meister Tokyo, he faced a match with TT Saitama and participated in the doubles of the first match in a pair with Tomokazu Harimoto, who fought with the Tokyo Olympics.
The pair of Mizutani and Harimoto dropped the first game, and the second game was also a difficult development that allowed a lead of 5 to 7, but with skillful shots that missed the timing of Mizutani's opponent, 5 consecutive points were scored. He stole it and succeeded in reversing, and in the end Mizutani scored with his favorite serve and took 11-8.
However, in the final third game, he couldn't cope with the opponent's strong shots and serve and dropped 8-11, and the pair of Mizutani and Harimoto lost with a game count of 1-2.
After that, Mizutani watched the games of juniors such as Harimoto who fought the singles from the bench, and the team won 3 to 2.
Mizutani is scheduled to participate in the game on the 24th.
Build an era in the men's table tennis world
Jun Mizutani is 32 years old from Shizuoka prefecture.
It has a variety of serves that make use of the soft ball touch and a powerful forehand.
When he was in the second year of high school, he won the men's singles at the All Japan Championship at the youngest age of 17 at the time, and has been leading the Japanese men's table tennis world since he was a teenager.
In the All Japan Championship, he won the men's singles for the 10th time, renewing the number of times he has won the most.
He has participated in the Olympic Games four times in a row since the 2008 Beijing Games, and at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, he won the silver medal in the men's team and the first bronze medal in the Japanese table tennis world in the men's singles.
And at the Tokyo Olympics, he achieved the feat of being the first gold medal in the Japanese table tennis world with mixed doubles paired with Mima Ito, who is also from Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
In addition, he pulled Tomokazu Harimoto as the oldest member of the men's team and won the bronze medal, which is the medal for the second consecutive tournament.
Mizutani decided to retire from active duty due to eye problems such as difficulty in seeing the ball, but the strength of the game that leaves the most attention such as the Olympics and the All Japan Championship is outstanding. We have built an era in the men's table tennis world.
Mizutani "Tomorrow wants to deliver victory to fans"
Jun Mizutani, who participated in the game in his hometown of Shizuoka, said, "I felt that the local power was great because my classmates told me to go see it. I was wondering if I could play a little better. However, I didn't practice for 3 months, so I didn't move much. "
Mizutani said that the two-day match between today and tomorrow will be the last match as an active player. My feelings were the last at the Tokyo Olympics. Three months after that, I don't feel like I want to be a table tennis player, and I think that the words that I've done everything at the Olympics and burned out are correct. I couldn't respond to the games, so tomorrow can play muddy, so I just want to deliver the victory to the fans. "
Harimoto "A player who should aim for a lifetime Happy to be able to play together"
Tomokazu Harimoto, who participated in the doubles match in pairs with Jun Mizutani, who both fought the Tokyo Olympics, said, "I wasn't used to it because the practice period was short, but I had respect for Mizutani, but together. I was happy to be able to play and played the match. "
Also, when asked about the existence of Mizutani, he said, "Even if I retire, my longing player is still Mizutani. I haven't become an absolute ace like Mizutani yet. Speaking of Japan, I want to be the next player to join Mizutani, and I think he should aim for the rest of his life. "