[What Does London Tell Us?] Unshaken and in Flux: The Current State of 100 Years of World Table Tennis vol.1

〘In Flux〙 Felix LEBRUN’s supple, powerful body. Players’ awareness of their bodies is clearly growing

　In the men’s team semi-final between China and France, LIN Shidong and Felix LEBRUN met in the second match. Even after coming onto the court, Felix LEBRUN kept repeating dynamic stretches for a while, and what caught the eye was the suppleness around his shoulder and hip joints, as well as his wide range of motion.

　With both hands, he unleashed full swings in a dynamic style, yet Felix LEBRUN’s play was astonishingly mistake-free. I felt that the source of his power and accuracy lies in his strong, supple body. In this match, he beat LIN Shidong in a commanding power battle, and in the fourth match he also pushed WANG Chuqin close.

As Reito Tanaka, who has long served as strength & conditioning coach for the Japan men’s team, has said, overseas players who once did little more than loosen up lightly before hitting balls are now doing proper warm-ups and training, and their awareness of their bodies has risen in recent years.

　The France team is a prime example: before matches, on the court and in corners of the venue, they are always seen doing a variety of warm-ups and training exercises using tubes and balls. Many of these drills are suited to the nature of table tennis, a sport that requires instant decisions while moving. This was not something seen in earlier World Table Tennis Championships.

In the France team, 18-year-old COTON, who knocked out the “physical monster” Hugo CALDERANO in the quarter-final against Brazil as the opening player, is still slender, but he is a player who clearly understands how to use his body efficiently. He can move smoothly without lifting and lowering his body, and with a compact backswing he generates instant swing speed.

　Thanks to the daily efforts of the players and staff, the Japan team can now match overseas players in both power and speed, but the physical ability of foreign players remains a real threat. Continued strengthening will be essential.

〘Unshaken〙 A stage worthy of a centenary event. Wembley Arena, a historic building

　A hundred years have passed since the first tournament was held in 1926. Table tennis has returned to its home country, England, and the World Table Tennis Championships have returned to London.

　When I first saw the OVO Wembley Arena, where Stage 1A and the knockout rounds were held, I must admit I thought, “What a worn-out building.” I was struck by the gap between the beautifully redeveloped surrounding neighborhood and the towering “mecca of football,” Wembley Stadium, with its 90,000-seat capacity, right next door.

　But in fact, Wembley Arena was built in 1934 and is designated as an important structure, in other words, a kind of “cultural asset.” The first World Table Tennis Championships in 1926 were held at Memorial Hall in central London, but four editions — in 1935 (9th), 1938 (12th), 1948 (15th), and 1954 (21st) — all used Wembley Arena as the main venue. It was also the stage for the 21st edition, when Japan won four of the seven events and heralded the golden age of “Table Tennis Japan.”

　A centenary commemorative event held at a venue that has “not changed.” There was nothing in the way of flashy anniversary celebrations, but thinking that Ichiro Ogimura, known as “Mr. Table Tennis,” had once been darting around the same place “like a cat on a corrugated roof” made it deeply moving.