Mizutani (second from left in the back row) and Niwa (at left in the front row). Photo: Nikkan Sports/Aflo
The Perfect 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships were held in Malaysia from February 28 to March 6. The Japanese men’s team accomplished the outstanding feat of winning a silver medal for the first time in 39 years at the Championships. The team was led by Jun Mizutani (2013 graduate of the School of Political Science and Economics), an alumnus of the Athletic Association’s Table Tennis Club, and included Koki Niwa (third-year student in the School of Political Science and Economics), who also belongs to the club.
In the team groups stage, in which six teams in each group competed against each other, the Japanese men’s team won all five of their matches in their group, Group C. In the finals stage, they defeated Hong Kong in the quarter-finals and England in the semi-finals. In the finals, they showed an impressive performance against the defending champion China, but were unfortunately defeated 3–0.
