Two-time Olympic medalist and Japanese table tennis star Takaki Niwa was arrested on suspicion of illegal gambling, and Japanese media learned from the indictment of the Chiba Prefecture police on January 29 that Takaki Niwa had committed a bet from an overseas gambling site and pleaded guilty to the charges in a voluntary investigation.

Kyodo News exclusively said that Takashi Niwa was arrested on suspicion of illegal gambling

According to Kyodo News exclusively, Takaki Niwa was arrested on suspicion of illegal gambling, and the Japanese table tennis star said in an interview with Kyodo News, "I did it without knowing that it was illegal, I regret it, and I apologize to all my supporters." ”

According to sources, the prosecution documents were sent to the prosecutor's office on January 20 this year, recommending a formal prosecution and severe punishment. Niwa is accused of logging into a gambling site in Japan in the summer of 2011 and placing bets with virtual currency.

Takaki Niwa was an indispensable member of the Japanese table tennis team

That was nearly 14 years ago, why did it take so long for it to come to light? The reason is that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department earlier found out the Japanese user involved in the case and conducted an investigation during the investigation of an online gambling payment platform company, which found that Takaki Niwa, who lives in Chiba Prefecture, was involved in the case many years ago.

Takaki Niwa represented Japan at the London Olympics in 2012 at the age of 17. He went on to represent Japan in major competitions, including the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics with Hayahara Mizutani and Maharu Yoshimura, beating Poland in the first round, beating Hong Kong in the quarterfinals, defeating Germany in the semi-finals, and losing to the Chinese team of Ma Long, Zhang Jike and Xu Xin 1:3 in the final to win the silver medal. At Tokyo 2021, Japan played at home, winning a bronze medal alongside Hayashimi Mizutani and Tomokazu Haramoto.

Takaki Niwa retired from the international arena in 2022

Takaki Niwa announced his retirement from international competitions in the fall of 2022, but continued to compete in domestic competitions. He is currently a member of Okayama Rivets, a T.League team in Japan's top table tennis league, and has mostly stayed in Japan since retiring from the national team.

In the Japanese men's table tennis team, Niwa Takashi's brilliance is far less than that of Mizutani Hayabusa next to him, and later Tomokazu Haramoto, but he was undoubtedly an important member of the team, so the news of his ban this time is still quite shocking.