A powerful weapon to follow the “Hina Drive” has been found!　Hina Hayata’s “tearful defeat” reveals the light to defeat China

The Wall of China

I am very disappointed that I could not overcome the wall. I want to remember this experience in my heart.”

Wiping away the endless tears, Hina Hayata (25, ranked 10th in the world) looked ahead to the final of the women’s team competition at the World Table Tennis Championships in London on May 10, where the Japanese team faced the reigning champions, China, and lost 2-3 in the set count.

In the first match, Miwa Zhang (17, ranked No. 3 in the world) got a big win from Wang Man-Yu (27), ranked No. 2 in the world, and in the third match, cutter Honoka Hashimoto (27, ranked No. 14 in the world) got a comfortable win over Quay Man (22, No. 7). However, Hayata lost in straight sets to Sun Yingxia (25), the absolute queen ranked No. 1 in the world, in the second match, and to Wang in the fifth match.

From a different perspective, the Japanese women’s table tennis world, led by Hayata, had been handicapped by the Chinese wall, which had been so high until then, on the 10th. Hiroko Fujii, a former member of Japan’s women’s table tennis team, said, “The difference in ability between Hayata and her opponent was not as great as the difference in the game count.

What I would like to focus on is the fifth game against Wang. Wang was attacked on the fore-side by Zhang in the first game and lost. Wang probably recognized that ‘the Japanese team will go for the fore-side. I think Hayata’s strategy was to try to circumvent this mentality by gathering the ball in the center of Wang’s body, shaking him, and hitting hard to the fore-side when he collapsed. In fact, there were times when this strategy worked and he hit the ball through Wang’s foreside. However, Wang did not collapse easily. I think this was unexpected for Hayata.

As symbolized by the “hina drive,” Hayata is good at attacking with a forehand drive at a slight distance from the table. On the other hand, according to Fujii, Hayata often plays cautiously for stability when a short ball is sent to the net by his opponent.

Compared to these women, Hayata is a step behind. “The world’s top-class Chinese players are notorious for using chiquita, reverse chiquita, and flicks to hit through balls on the table, which are difficult to hit hard. Of course, this is not a weakness of Hayata, since this is a very high level. However, if she wants to go even higher, she needs to increase her play on the aggressive platform.

However, Hayata’s style is evolving after the Paris Olympics, where he won the individual bronze medal.

After the Olympics, Hayata has gradually adopted a style of approaching the platform and countering with fast timing due to her injury. If he can further strengthen this tactic and become equal to the Chinese in “attack and defense on the platform,” it will be a powerful weapon.

The light for overthrowing China will be generated from the very merit of the injury.

From the May 29, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY