In the tournament that doubles as the Japan national team selection for the Paris Olympic table tennis, the men's and women's singles finals will be held. We won the championship and got off to a good start for the Paris Games.

Harimoto "You can praise yourself"

The tournament held in Tachikawa, Tokyo will be held as the first representative selection for the Paris Olympics next year, and points will be awarded according to the results.



On the final day, the 6th, the men's and women's singles finals were held, and the men's players played against Harimoto and Mizuki Oikawa, who won the men's singles at last year's All Japan Championship.



Harimoto took 5 points in a row in the 3rd game with a game count of 1: 1 and his strong high-speed backhand, and took 11-5.



In the 4th game, I returned a shot to a tough course against the opponent's bang, and took it 11 to 7.



From beginning to end, Harimoto took the initiative and won the game count of 4 to 2 and won 50 points in the first round of selection.

Tomokazu Harimoto said, "It's been a while since I've survived all the games without losing, so I'm relieved. I was given the right of representation by recommendation, but I felt the difficulty of the strict selection meeting and it was a plus for me. I think I can praise myself. "



He also said that he won his first selection, "I'm happy to be one step ahead, but I want to win more and more points."

Hayada wins in reverse

For girls, Hina Hayata, who won second place in this year's All Japan Championship, played against Miyu Nagasaki.



Nagasaki defeats Mima Ito, who won three medals at the Tokyo Olympics in the quarterfinals on the 5th.



Hayada lost to Nagasaki's intense shots and serve from the first game and dropped 5-11.



She continued to take two games in a row, with a game count of 0 to 3 and a runaway fourth game of 11 to 5.



Hayada took two games from the fifth game with a powerful forehand that pierced the course and a skillful receive with slow and fast movements.



In the final 7th game, Hayada calmly regained the points even in the match point scene of the opponent and took 13 to 11 and won the game in a come-from-behind victory with a game count of 4 to 3.



Hayada also won the championship with 50 points.

Hina Hayata said about her opponent, Miyu Nagasaki, "I thought the momentum was great when I fought against Ito and won, and I had the strongest mistakes I've ever made."



After the game count was 0 to 3, I was fighting while thinking "I'm strong". In a sense, I had to give up and use the course and slow and fast as much as possible. I'm glad I was able to take the plunge in a difficult match, even though I had some remorse. It was a match with different emotions one by one. "



And for the Paris Olympics, she said, "I'm just conscious of winning one race at a time. Today, I want to continue to grow without forgetting the feeling that I was able to believe in myself and fight."

Miyu Nagasaki, who was unfortunately defeated, said, "For better or worse, this was shown to be my strength. I couldn't win one more step even though I had taken three games in advance. And what I've done so far has come to fruition. "



Nagasaki was two years younger than Mima Ito, Miu Hirano, and Hayada who participated in the Tokyo Olympics. I wonder if I was finally able to reach the ground level. I haven't made it to the start line yet, so I want to catch up and overtake and do my best, "he said with a smile.

New criteria The selection of the Paris Olympics is a unique point

The selection criteria for the Japanese national team for the Paris Olympics to be held in 2024 next year have changed significantly from the selection for the Tokyo Olympics.



Since the holding method of the international tournament was changed last year, it is not a rule that all players can participate fairly, so the world ranking is not used as the selection criteria as before, and it is uniquely established by the Japan Table Tennis Association. It was decided to select a representative based on the selection points.



This tournament is the first tournament to be eligible for the selection points.



According to the association, selection points will be awarded based on the results of domestic and international competitions from this competition to January next year when the Paris competition will be held.



This applies to the newly established representative selection meeting three times a year, the domestic league T-League, and the world championships.



If Japan wins two singles representative slots for both men and women for the Paris tournament, the top two in total points will be nominated as representatives.



This tournament, which will be the first round of selection, will be awarded according to the ranking, such as 50 points for victory, 45 points for runner-up, and 40 points for 3rd place, and the number of points will be decided for each tournament and selection.



Athletes will accumulate points over the next two years and aim for a national team appointment, and they will be required to have the ability to win high-level domestic tournaments compared to the previous national team selection.

Mima Ito commented on the new selection criteria, "The points of the T-League and overseas games are not so different. It's not bad, but I think it's important to play an active part in various places in Japan and around the world. I think it's good because the number of domestic players will increase, but I think it's also very important to win overseas games. "