Hirano overwhelms Ito to advance to table tennis semifinals

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:40 JST, November 13, 2022

FUNABASHI, Chiba — Miu Hirano defeated Mima Ito 4-0 in the women’s singles quarterfinals of the 2022 Zen-Noh Cup Top 32 on Saturday.

Hina Hayata also advanced to the semifinals of the table tennis tournament, while Kasumi Ishikawa lost in the second round. In the men’s singles, Tomokazu Harimoto is through to the semifinals as well.

The tournament is being held to select Japan’s representatives for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Hirano won in straight sets over Ito, a fellow member of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic team. Their second game went to deuce, but Hirano dominated the following third and fourth games.

Hirano pushed forward with accurate, powerful shots, forcing numerous mistakes from Ito. “I was able to be aggressive with my service returns,” Hirano said after the game. “I played with a strong spirit all the way through.”

Ito said, “It was a match that showed Hirano’s best.”