Mima Ito
Mima Ito is the most popular table tennis player in Japan. She has won the mixed doubles gold medal, singles bronze medal and team silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Since 2018, Ito Mima has defeated many Chinese main players in various levels of competition, and the world ranking has also climbed all the way, and the highest has reached the second place in the world.
In China, some people hate and hate Mima Ito, some people love and appreciate Mima Ito, and some people are afraid of Mima Ito.
Mima Ito is outgoing and aggressive, with a unique style of play and a fierce style of play. Because her parents divorced when she was very young, her mother had the most important influence on her growth, and her personality also had the paranoia of a single-parent family.
The appearance of Mima Ito has accelerated the replacement of new and old Chinese main players, and also affected the selection criteria for the Tokyo Olympics, which have already ended. However, although Ito Mima did have a great impact and threat on Chinese table tennis, and also had a great impact on the world women's table tennis, but facing China, which has a long-term monopoly advantage, Ito Mima has also had a very difficult journey. Yes, during this period, I am destined to encounter many difficulties and various mental processes that are unimaginable to ordinary people.
With the Tokyo Olympics as a watershed, Mima Ito's career has also entered a new stage. Although Hirano Miu and Hina Hayata , who are the same age as Ito Mima, have performed well in the past or have improved a lot in recent years, as the most important player, Ito Mima still carries and represents Japan The future of women's table tennis.
01
Mima Ito was born in 2000 in Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture, , Japan. Both father and mother are professional table tennis players. His father ran a table tennis-related business. Due to poor management, he went bankrupt and eventually went bankrupt. After his parents divorced, Mima Ito was raised by his mother, and under the influence and help of his mother, he embarked on the road of professional table tennis.
The story of Mima Ito receiving prenatal education when she was in the womb and determined to defeat Chinese table tennis in the future.It is very popular in China. "Only you can beat the Chinese!" "You will definitely win!" This is what Mima Ito's mother Ito Minori's prenatal education and what Ito Mima often said after she was born, This is indeed in line with the strong character of Ito Mima's mother, Ito Mima It does make Meicheng feel very different from other Japanese women's table tennis players.
Shizuoka Prefecture is rich in table tennis players, besides Ito Mima, famous Japanese players such as Mizutani Hayabusa Hirano Miu are also from Iwata City. Ito Mima and Hirano Miu have been practicing ball at the arena ("Toda Town Zhuo Ball スポーツ Junior Club") opened by Mizutani Hayabusa's father since he was a child. Mima Ito and Hayabusa Mizutani are very close, only a ten-minute walk away, so there is a reason for the tacit understanding between Mima Ito and Hayabusa Mizutani in mixed doubles, and winning the mixed doubles gold at the Tokyo Olympics is no accident.
Mima Ito Mizutani Hayabusa
Mima Ito Hirano Mio
When Mima Ito was very young, her mother Minori Ito once changed the dining table into a ping pong table at home Mima Ito's table tennis enlightenment. During the period, Mima Ito played a good shot, which made Minori Ito decide to let her daughter take the professional table tennis path. Ito Meicheng was formally trained by her mother when she was 2 years old, and she went to the formal training school to practice ball when she was 5 years old. The picture below is of Mima Ito's living room as a child. There is only one huge table tennis table in the living room, and several trophies are placed next to it. This is where Mima Ito often practiced since he was a child.
After the divorce of the parents, the financial situation of the family is not very good. For a period of time, Mima Ito's mother even worked three jobs at the same time to support her daughter's learning of football and maintain the daily expenses of the family. This situation is different from many ordinary people. People don't make a big difference. The difference is that Mima Ito has a "devil-like" mother. The mother is cruel to Ito Mima.Since the age of 3, Mima Ito has been training for at least 7 hours a day. If the training at night is too sleepy, I squat down and take a short rest, wash my face to stimulate my nerves, and then continue training until very late.
After becoming famous, Mima Ito called her mother a "devil" in an interview, but when she said this, Mima Ito still smiled and said "Thank you!" to her mother
Tokyo After the Olympic Games, Mima Ito realized her wish to use the Olympic medals as a gift for her mother. Mima Ito's mixed doubles gold medal was also rewarded by various parties, amounting to hundreds of millions of yen. In terms of economy, this once-struggling single-parent family has also undergone tremendous changes, and Mima Ito and her daughter have succeeded.
Participated in a TV show with her mother at the age of 5
Ito Mima was already famous when she was 5 years old, and her goal at that time was to surpass her predecessors Fukuhara Ai . At the age of 9, Ito Mima won the All-Japan Table Tennis Tournament in the fourth grade group and below. At the age of 10, Ito Mima won the first round of the All-Japan Table Tennis Competition and broke the previous record of the youngest winning record held by Ai Fukuhara, becoming the successor. A child star after Ai Fukuhara.
Mima Ito in elementary school
Influenced by her mother, it is more from Mima Ito's winning character and lofty ideals. Mima Ito set her goals for the future when she was in elementary school. " won the 2020 Olympic Games, including team and individual wins." This is what Mima Ito wrote in an essay when he was in elementary school.
2020 Tokyo Olympics has ended last summer. Although Mima Ito failed to win the team and singles championship, she won the gold medal with Hayabusa Mizutani in the mixed doubles event and created the history of Japanese table tennis. . Especially in Japan,The success of Mima Ito has indeed brought great satisfaction to the Japanese. Mima Ito's popularity in Japan has also reached its peak.
In January 2022, before the Japan National Championships, Mima Ito announced that she will no longer compete in mixed doubles and will instead focus on singles events.
Mima Ito was determined to win gold at the 2020 Olympic Games when she was in elementary school ITTF The youngest record to win the championship, the combined age of the two is only 27 years and 145 days. In the singles event, in the 2015 German Open, Mima Ito won the singles championship; in the same year, Mima Ito participated in the World Table Tennis Championships held in Suzhou, China, and lost 2-4 in the quarterfinals to China Li Xiaoxia_ span14span; In March 2016, he partnered with Ai Fukuhara to advance to the Qatar Open final and lost to China Ding Ning / Liu Shiwen, and won the runner-up; in the Japan Open in June of the same year, Ito Mima lost 1-4 to China's Ding Ning , stop the second round.
At this time, it is still very difficult for Mima Ito to defeat Chinese players, especially the main players. But in the Rio Olympics qualifiers in Hong Kong in April, Mima Ito beat Ding Ning 4-2 to create a miracle.
This should be Mima Ito's first victory over a major Chinese player, and this victory has greatly encouraged Mima Ito. "Now against Chinese players, although I feel that I only have a 20% chance of winning,But I always have 100% confidence to beat Chinese players. I hope to win the gold medal at the Rio Olympics this time and give the gold medal as a gift to my mother. ”
With the above series of results, Mima Ito won a place to represent Japan in the 2016 Rio Olympic team at the age of 16. Ai Fukuhara and Kasumi Ishikawa participated in the singles Project. In Rio, the Japanese women's team finally won the team bronze medal. In the third decisive battle, Ito Mima defeated Singapore famous Feng Tianwei, and made credit for the Japanese women's team winning the medal.
Mima Ito will cry on the sidelines after a loss
However, what made Mima Ito unforgettable in Rio was the match against the German women's team in the semifinals. In the first set, Mima Ito had a 9-3 lead and was defeated by Solja came back, which also led to the Japanese women's team losing to the German women's team and failing to advance to the final. Years later, Mima Ito still can't forget this game, and regards Solja as the most painful thing for her. The first person. In addition, Mima Ito feels pain: Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Kasumi Ishikawa.
In the 2016 World Table Tennis Championships team finals before the Rio Olympics, Ito Mima has already attracted the attention of the table tennis world as the No. 3 of the Japanese women's team. At that time, CCTV commentator Yang Ying and commentator Zhang Yining also greatly admired Ito Mima.
Yang Ying couldn't help saying: "Ito Mima Makoto looks very different from other players in Japan.
Yang Ying refers to Ito Mima's playing style and the temperament of the game.
Zhang Yining agrees: "Ito Mima really has all the potential to become a super-class player.
Unlike a few years later, Zhang Yining believed that Mima Ito would no longer be a threat when he was over 20 years old. In 2016, Zhang Yining did say so during the live broadcast. In that match, Ding Ning won 3-1. In the fourth In the match, Ding Ning won 11-1 and almost wiped out Ito Mima, with a huge advantage.
However, what everyone could not expect was that four years later in the Qatar Open, Ding Ning was swept 4-0 by Ito Mima. The third game was beaten 11-0 by Ito Mima, without a point.
Nippon TV broadcast the game
The Japanese host made an unbelievable move
That game The game made the island nation of Japan jubilant, and the Japanese host even made a move that "couldn't believe his eyes".
This fiasco is also regarded as the most humiliating game in Ding Ning's career, and Ding Ning has basically withdrawn from the international competition since then. The tournament (only participated in the WTT Macau at the end of 2020) and Ito Mima also never played again. In September 2021, Ding Ning entered Peking University to study and announced his retirement.
03
Hirano Miu Ito Mima_ p2p
Although Mima Ito participated in the Rio Olympics in 2016, she stood out among the players born in 2000, but from 2016 to 2017, she played more doubles with Miu Hirano, and her personal singles results Not very prominent. Miu Hirano had two crazy performances in singles in 2016 and 2017, won the world singles championship in 2016, and won the Asian Championship in 2017.
If Chinese players did not participate in the 2016 World Cup It seems that the gold content is not enough, but in 2017 in Wuxi, China, Hirano Miyu followed three main players in China (Ding Ning, Zhu Yuling, Chen Meng) and finally won the championship, which caused a huge sensation and shocked China.
For a period of time, Hirano Miyu was regarded as the biggest opponent of the Chinese women's team.none of them. The Chinese coaching staff also conducted detailed research on Hirano Miyu and carried out targeted training. Before Sun Yingsha entered the national first team, as the main sparring partner, she imitated Hirano Miyu's style of play.
Although she failed to achieve the same success in singles as Miu Hirano, Miu Hirano's success undoubtedly stimulated and inspired Mima Ito even more. When the whole country of Japan celebrated for Hirano Miu, the more competitive Ito Mima and her daughter secretly encouraged themselves. They put in more hard and crazy training, looking forward to and believing that they would be able to break through one day.
Soon, the day has come.
The 2018 World Table Tennis Championships team competition was held in Sweden small town Halmstad. The final of the women's team was played between the Chinese women's team and the Japanese women's team. The first match was Liu Shiwen against Mima Ito. In this match, Liu Guoliang , then chairman of China Table Tennis Association , who temporarily left the national table tennis team, explained it through China Sports. Throughout the game, Mima Ito's skills and game temperament also shocked the Chinese netizens who watched the live broadcast.
Specifically, in this game, Ito Mima's backhand raw rubber power exerted great power, which caused a lot of trouble to Liu Shiwen. During the round, Chinese netizens could clearly hear Liu Shiwen saying to the off-court instructor Li Falcon: "I can't figure out the spin of her backhand." And Liu Shiwen seldom sends a short forehand to limit Mima Ito's backhand. Play, This also makes Liu Guoliang anxious. The live broadcast room shouted: "Why don't you send a short forehand, a short forehand, a short forehand!"
The game reached 10-8 in the tiebreaker, Liu Shiwen led by two points, but Mima Ito eventually equalized and won. .
2018 World Table Tennis Championships Team Ito Mima defeated Liu Shiwen
The final result was the Chinese women's team 3-1 the Japanese women's team.In the fourth set, Liu Shiwen 3-0 Hirano Miyu will atone for her sins. But Mima Ito scored a point, but it made Japan team: "I saw the dawn of defeating the Chinese team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics." I want to knock down the fighting spirit of the Chinese team to train and compete.” And Miyu Hirano, who was inspired by this, said: “It’s more bottomless than the previous games against Chinese players, so the passive situation of losing will not continue forever.”
In the first half of the 2018 Japan Open, Mima Ito defeated Chinese rookie Wang Manyu in the final to win the championship. At the same time, Zhang Benzhi and also won the championship. At the Swedish Open at the end of 2018, Ito Mima once again defeated Liu Shiwen in the tiebreaker, Ding Ning in the semifinals, and Zhu Yuling in the final, winning the championship, overturning the main force of the entire Chinese women's team, replicating the miracle of Hirano Miyu in 2017.
04
Ito Mima has won the mixed doubles gold medal, team silver medal and singles bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but in the three years from 2019 to the end of 2021, Ito Mima has not achieved substantial results in the singles event. breakthrough.
Matsuzaki Taisuke is Ito Mima's coach. In December 2021, , this young Japanese coach who did not have much qualifications when he was young but was able to create a top player like Ito Mima, faced the media. A sigh: The peak of Ito Mima has passed, and Ito Mima can no longer beat Chinese players!
Taisuke Matsuzaki became Ito Mima's coach when she was very young, and played an important role in Ito Mima's growth. Of course, she also knew Ito Mima very well.
Matsuzaki Taisuke guides Ito Mima
The reason why Matsuzaki Taisuke thinks that Mima Ito has passed his peak,One is that Ito Meicheng's state came out too early. The two signs are that one is the victory over Liu Shiwen in the 2018 World Cup team final, and the other is that in the 2018 Japan Open, she has defeated Chen Xingtong and Wang Manyu to win the women's singles championship!
Then there are two peaks. First, Mima Fuji won the gold medal in women's singles against Zhang Qiang, Feng Tianwei, Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning and Zhu Yuling at the 2018 Swedish Open, and Mima Ito won the gold medal at the 2019 Qatar Open. Ding Ning hit an 11:0.
Taisuke Matsuzaki believes that it will be difficult for Mima Ito to have a particularly good performance in the future. The most important reason is that there are too many excellent Chinese players. When Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen and Zhu Yuling have not completely retired, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi , Chen Xingtong and other players have matured, and the Chinese coaching staff's research on Ito Mima has become more and more thorough.
Throughout 2019 until the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships, in all competitions, Mima Ito's winning rate against Chinese elite players dropped rapidly. Including many open competitions, T2 leagues, World Cup team competitions, World Cup singles, Olympic team competitions, World Table Tennis Championships singles competitions and other competitions, Ito Mima has successively lost to China's Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi, etc. In the most recent World Table Tennis Championships, Ito Mima was eliminated by Wang Yidi and was eliminated early, while the Chinese women's team once again swept the top four in the singles World Table Tennis Championships.
05
Mima Ito mother and daughter
Single parent families are difficult, this mother and daughter have experienced many misfortunes and hardships that normal families never experience. The mother and daughter have strong personalities and work hard to achieve their goals. For the mother and daughter of Mima Ito, it has been a very successful achievement for Mima Ito to achieve what she is now.
Mima Ito is just 22 years old, and her future career is still very long. Taking the Tokyo Olympics as a watershed,Mima Ito has entered the third stage, and will still be the strongest opponent of Chinese women's table tennis in the future, which should not be underestimated.
In China, people have mixed reactions to Mima Ito.
Some people hate, even hate her. The reason why I hate her is that Mima Ito is too outgoing and arrogant. If you win the game, you will be domineering, and if you lose the game, you will have all kinds of black faces and hypocrisy. Hate her because of the players she has beaten who have huge fan bases in China.
Someone loves and appreciates her. I like her outspoken and tense personality; I appreciate her "unkillable" spirit of constantly working hard for her goals and not afraid of failure. At the same time, her unique backhand raw rubber also enriches the playing style of women's table tennis in the world today. Fierce offensive, ferocious, sturdy style of play is a unique landscape on the field.
There are also people who are afraid of Mima Ito. She was a scary player from a player and coach perspective. She can make the Chinese women's team change the Olympic selection standards because of her. She directly marginalized players like Zhu Yuling and forced Ding Ning to announce his retirement. Mima Ito made Chinese coaches not eat well and sleep well. From the perspective of fans in recent years, some people have been frightened by Ito Mima.
Japan is a warlike nation in history and a country that respects force. To a certain extent, Mima Ito is somewhat similar to the spirit of the former " Bushido ". If you are weak, then Mima Ito will smash you mercilessly and then hurry up! Just like the 4-0 sweep of Zhu Yuling and the 11-0 Ding Ning in a single game, this scene may even make some people feel terrified and scared. Even though it's a competitive sport and not a battlefield, it's a creepy feeling. Even enthusiasts who often play amateur games will have lingering fears when they encounter such a scene. Only if you are stronger than her, don't give her a chance, and keep defeating her, will she finally be convinced and soft.
But Mima Ito's appearance and subsequent career are destined to bring vitality and excitement to the world table tennis arena.
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