Rui Nakazawa
Rui Nakazawa [Women’s National Team Head Coach]
Behind the silver medal were many discoveries that could not be explained by results alone. What emerged from that was the distance to China, and the potential of the Japanese women’s team. Head coach Rui Nakazawa reflects on the gains and the challenges from London.
◆Rui Nakazawa
Born September 7, 1979, in Hebei Province, China. Retired from active competition at 24 and came to Japan in 2002. After 13 years as a coach, she became women’s head coach at the JOC Elite Academy. From 2022, she served as women’s head coach of the Kinoshita Table Tennis Academy and as a T.League coach, leading her team to victory in the final of the T.League 2024-2025 season. Appointed head coach of the Japanese women’s national team in April 2025
“China is still a high wall. But it is by no means an insurmountable one.”
Miwa Harimoto defeated Wang Manyu. Honoka Hashimoto beat Kuai Man. The Japanese women pushed China to the brink in the Final, only to lose by a single point. Even so, the view from London was not defined solely by the frustration of defeat.
Head coach Rui Nakazawa spoke about the hope and challenges that lay beyond the silver medal, as well as the sense that world No. 1 was within reach.
◇
It has been a while since the World Table Tennis Championships in London ended, but looking back now, my honest feelings are split evenly between “frustration” and “a sense of progress.”
The Japanese women lost 3-2 to China in the Final and took the silver medal. We came up just short again, as we did at the previous event, and that is exactly why the words “just one more point” still stay so strongly in my mind.
A silver medal is not something that can be won easily. The Japanese women have reached the Final in six straight tournaments, and even that is not something to take for granted. Still, from before the event began, I was thinking only about defeating China and winning the gold medal.
Share
