Japan ends China’s 32-year team table tennis run

Japan’s national table tennis team defeated China in the final of the men’s team tournament at the Asian Games in the city of Toyota, Japan. Japan won the final 3:2, with Sora Matsushima playing the decisive match against Wen Ruibo, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.

Matsushima’s decisive victory

The Chinese team had won gold in the men’s team tournament at every Asian Games since 1994. Japan’s squad, in addition to Matsushima, included Tomokazu Harimoto, Shunsuke Togami, Yukiya Uda and Hiroto Shinozuka.

China’s lineup included world No. 1 Wang Chuqin. He defeated Matsushima in the opening match but later lost to Harimoto 0:3. Harimoto’s victory levelled the score in the final at 2:2.

After the match, Harimoto said that the Japanese team had managed to overcome its lack of confidence in encounters with China. According to him, Japan has two players in the top five of the world rankings: Matsushima is third, while Harimoto himself is fourth.

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Reaction of the Chinese team

After defeating Wang, Harimoto did not watch the decisive match from the bench, explaining this by superstition. He noted that he did not want Matsushima to see him during the final match.

Wang Chuqin said he faced psychological difficulties. According to him, Chinese players may have rushed during rallies while trying to play better.

China’s women’s team defeated Japan 3:0 in its team final. The men’s team’s defeat drew criticism from Chinese fans on Weibo: some users wrote about a lack of continuity and a shortage of new talent in the national team.

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