On the evening of February 24th, Beijing time, in the women's team final of the Busan World Table Tennis Championships, the Chinese team narrowly defeated the Japanese team 3-2 to defend the title after Chen Meng and Wang Yidi lost two points in a row. When the two teams were tied at 2-2, the Japanese team's Miwa Harimoto, who was born in 2008, came on the stage. Opposite her across the net was the 30-year-old Olympic champion Chen Meng, who was twice her age. Her brother looked at her expectantly in the stands, and the unbearable pressure of a 15-year-old instantly fell on her shoulders - as long as she won an upset, she would immediately become a 15-year-old world champion.
Zhang Benmiwa, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she is the heroine of table tennis tonight. It can be said that she is still the second generation of Sichuan table tennis. Both her parents were the main players of the domestic provincial team. Her mother Zhang Ling participated in the 1995 Tianjin World Table Tennis Championships and lost the women's doubles, mixed doubles and women's singles in one day. After losing to Japanese player Shizuka Sato in the women's singles, she almost collapsed. Unexpectedly, 19 years later, her daughter would become the protagonist of the World Table Tennis Championships...
Speaking of Japanese table tennis, everyone is familiar with Tomokazu Harimoto. Zhang Benzhihe entered everyone's field of vision since the 2015 season. He has been active in the table tennis world for 10 years, but Zhang Benzhihe is not yet a world champion. His chance to play singles has not come yet, and the Japanese men's team he is on as a team is not enough to support him to reach the finals of the World Team Competition.
Zhang Benmeihe really stepped onto the world's first-tier stage last season. The Chengdu Mixed Team World Cup at the end of last year was her first appearance on the top world stage. However, because the Mixed Team World Cup is a newly established event, and the second stage of the competition system at that time was a round-robin tournament, it always feels different from the Olympic Games, World Table Tennis Championships and the traditional singles team World Cup. Strictly speaking, this Busan World Table Tennis Championships is the first time that Zhang Benmei has appeared on the stage of the three traditional competitions. This is definitely a very honorable thing for her parents.
Everyone knows that in tonight’s final, the Chinese team narrowly defeated the Japanese team 3-2 to win the championship. In the 47th World Table Tennis Championships 20 years ago, the Japanese women's table tennis team also forced the Chinese team to the final set. The peak dialogue between China and Japan in women's table tennis 20 years ago was the semifinals. Wang Nan narrowly defeated Rei Umemura 3-2 in the first singles set, and then Zhang Yining easily defeated Ai Fukuhara 3-0. Everything seems to be under the control of Guoping. The two sides competed in three singles, but Li Ju lost to Fujinuma Ai 2-3 by accident, and then Zhang Yining lost in the fourth set to Umemura Rei. In the fifth set, Wang Nan faced 15-year-old Ai Fukuhara (Ai Fukuhara lost 0-3). If Ai Fukuhara had an upset victory at that time, the Japanese team would have a good chance of winning in the final against Hong Kong, China.
Returning to tonight’s thrilling battle between China and Japan, the 15-year-old girl from the Japanese team who appeared in the fifth set was replaced by Miwa Harimoto. Zhang Benmeihe was very relaxed. Zhang Benmeihe even won the first game 11-4. Chen Meng finally stabilized his position and won the next three games. After all, Miwa Harimoto's overall strength seemed a lot immature.
After 20 years, the Japanese women's table tennis team once again relived the dream moment of approaching an upset victory over the Chinese team. Although the dream did not come true, it was a precious scene to dream about again after 20 years. Comparatively speaking, Hina Hayata's victory over Chen Meng and Miu Hirano's victory over Wang Yidi are not as rewarding and valuable as the 15-year-old Zhang Benmei and her 1-3 loss to Chen Meng in the fifth set. Fukuhara Ai, who lost 0-3 in the fifth set of the Sino-Japanese war 20 years ago, has continued to be the national table tennis team darling and the "porcelain doll" loved by all Chinese fans for more than 10 years. Miwa Harimoto, who lost 1-3 tonight, can set off a huge wave in the future.
