On September 26, in the quarter-finals of the Table Tennis Men's Singles at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Zhang Benzhi and Matsushita Hikuko both suffered losses. Zhang Benzhi was defeated by the Iranian player Nosratollah Alamiyan, who ranks 334th in the world, with a score of 3:4. Matsushita Hikuko lost to the Chinese player Lin Shidong, with a score of 2:4. As a result, all of Japan's male players were eliminated from the competition.
This defeat stands in stark contrast to the performance of the Japanese male group two days ago. In the final on the 24th, the Chinese team, consisting of Wang Chuqin, Wen Ruibo, and Lin Shidong, lost to the Japanese team by a score of 2:3, missing the opportunity for an unprecedented nine consecutive championships.
According to @Migu Sports, after the match, Olympic champion and table tennis grand slam winner Deng Yaping commented on the performances of two Japanese players during the program.
Deng Yaping believes that for Japanese young players, being able to defeat the Chinese team in a team competition is somewhat unexpected. 'Before the match, they kept thinking about how to win against the Chinese team. After winning, they couldn't control their emotions and let them go too much. If you let your emotions run wild, how will you prepare for tomorrow's match? What does it mean to be an experienced player? It means being able to control your emotions well. What does it mean to be experienced in the sport? It means not being overly excited or too depressed when unhappy. You must control your emotions properly. When it's time to rest, you should go back and sleep, so that I can have enough energy. In my opinion, Matsushiro Hikaku was too excited, and his physical condition for the next day's match would definitely not be good.'
When talking about Zhang Benzhi's failure to reach the quarterfinals in men's singles, Deng Yaping said that Zhang Ben performed very well in the team competition. However, the level difference in his singles performance was significant. "He was well-prepared for the Chinese team, and his mindset was to compete against the Chinese team. Today, his mindset was different, and he didn't have as much research about Iran's Alamian."
Deng Yaping also reminded that Wang Chujin will need to be extra careful against Alamyan the day after tomorrow. “Players are different, and their playing styles also differ. It’s a left-handed player vs. left-handed player. The backhand stroke must be effective enough to lock down the opponent. After all, he can’t generate much power with his forehand, so relying solely on his backhand doesn’t seem like a good strategy for playing advanced strokes.”
Regarding Lin Shidong's victory over Matsushita Hikaru, Deng Yaping commented that the failure of the male group actually stimulated Lin Shidong's fighting spirit. In fact, his level and strength have always been there; it just needed some motivation to push him to a new level. "There is no way back; one must push forward. If one dares not take action, they will lose. With no way back, one must charge forward. This stimulated Lin Shidong's fighting spirit, and his courage led him to victory. This is the core of winning."
