Mima Ito and Jun Mizutani from Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture, who won the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics mixed table tennis doubles, were presented with the Shizuoka Prefecture Citizen's Honor Award.
Mr. Ito and Mr. Mizutani are from the same table tennis club in Iwata City, and won the first gold medal in the Japanese table tennis world in the mixed doubles of the Tokyo Olympics where they participated.
On the 27th, a ceremony to present the prefectural honor award was held at the Shizuoka Prefectural Office, and Governor Kawakatsu handed a certificate and a shield to Mr. Ito and Mr. Mizutani. The two are proud of Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and Japan. "
At a press conference after this, Ito said, "I'm glad that we were able to win the award together. I want to continue to do my best in each match in front of me and win the All Japan Championship. I want to make 2022 an interesting year." I stated my aspirations.
Then, looking back at the tournament, he expressed his gratitude to the locals, saying, "I was able to fight with the belief that everyone in Shizuoka was supporting me.
Mr. Mizutani, who retired from active duty in October, said, "I was very happy to say" Thank you for your courage and dreams "from the local area. I would like to say thank you again for your support." I want to be involved in the development of the game. I also want to give guidance to local children. "