The 2025 All Japan Table Tennis Championships, which opened at the Tokyo Gymnasium on the 21st local time, will begin to feature the top big-seeded players from the 23rd. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games have come to an end and the battle for Los Angeles 2028 has begun. Only two events, men's and women's singles, will be held at this tournament, and it is expected that the Paris Olympics will be the axis of fierce battles. Koji Matsushita, the first professional player in the Japanese table tennis industry and a 57-year-old celebrity who has participated in the Olympic Games for four consecutive years, was interviewed by Japanese media a few days ago and made a thorough analysis of the trend of the game.

Miwa Haramoto (left), who was recommended by Koji Matsushita as the biggest favorite to win the women's singles championship, and Hina Hayata, who won three consecutive championships

Koji Matsushita pointed out that the women's singles "level is really high, and the player layer is really thick". Hina Hayata, the bronze medalist of the Paris Olympics, Miu Hirano and Miwa Zhangmoto, who are also representatives, Misei Ito, who is aiming for the fourth championship after three years, and Satsuki Oto, who is growing rapidly, are all powerful players that should not be underestimated.

Hina Hayada is aiming for the sixth person in history to win three consecutive women's singles titles, but the condition of her left hand, which was injured at the Paris Olympics, is worrying. Koji Matsushita said, "Although he has returned from injury, he still has the impression that he has not fully recovered, so whether he can achieve the best performance is uncertain. Of course, I am the favourite, but I don't think I felt like I was leading alone like I did last time. The first sister of Japanese table tennis has an uneasy factor, and Zhang Benmeihe, who won the women's singles runner-up in the last all-day competition and has maintained her results after the Paris Olympics, has a greater chance of winning the championship, and Koji Matsushita commented: "She is the biggest favorite to win the women's singles championship." ”

However, Hitomi Sato may become an obstacle to Zhang Benmei and the way forward, and the two have fought more anxiously in the past, "so whether or not they can overcome this is the focus of Zhang Benmei and this conference." In addition, the results of Hashimoto, who won the women's doubles title at the 2024 WTT Finals with Hitomi Sato, may also affect the course of this tournament.

In the men's singles competition, Paris Olympic representatives Tomokazu Haramoto and Hayasuke Togami are candidates for the title. But Koji Matsushita's attention focused on the leap forward of the 17-year-old rising star Teruku Matsushima at this conference. Koji Matsushita said of the Los Angeles Olympics, where he aims to win a men's team medal for the first time in two Olympic Games, "There are parts where it is difficult to win the championship, but Matsushima Teruma is the top four in the team and should make it to the final. If Matsushima Teru can't come up, the Japanese table tennis men's team will be very painful. Because the thickness of the men's team is not as good as that of the women's team. ”