Interview | I fought with the mindset of giving it my all in every match, says Japan’s Honoka Hashimoto
Japan’s Honoka Hashimoto.
| Photograph Credit score: Particular Association
Japan’s Honoka Hashimoto was a revelation within the WTT Star Contender Chennai held on the Nehru Stadium right here just lately. World ranked 30, Hashimoto put up a masterclass in defensive play by reaching the ladies’s singles last, dropping to Miwa Harimoto of Japan, seeded two.
Unheralded, Hashimoto had earlier shocked the highest seed and country-mate Hina Hayata within the spherical of 16. And within the ladies’s summit conflict in opposition to Harimoto, Hashimoto troubled her higher-ranked opponent no finish, chopping and reducing with elan. Hashimoto might need misplaced the ultimate however she received the hearts of these current on the Stadium.
Within the interview to The Hindu, the 26-year-old Japanese spoke in regards to the difficulties of being a defensive participant at a time when most gamers have gotten attack-oriented, about her inspirations, and the way tough it’s to interrupt into the Japan ladies’s Nationwide crew, amongst different issues.
Excerpts of the interview:
How tough it’s to be a defensive participant within the instances of plastic balls and gamers are attacking?
It’s grow to be tougher to spin the ball, so it’s tougher to spin the ball on plastic balls. I believe it’s grow to be somewhat harder.
Why are they not many defensive gamers in males’s and girls?
There are fewer gamers from the start, and desk tennis is getting quicker now, so I believe there are extra pinching and attacking gamers, so there are fewer cut-players defensive participant.
Who’s your inspiration in terms of defensive gamers?
There was a participant referred to as Ishigaki Yuka, who was on the identical crew as me once I was younger, and he or she is retired now, however I actually respect her, however when it comes to taking part in model, I believe it’s the Korean participant Joo Se-hyuk, the 2012 Olympic males’s crew silver medallist.
The Japanese ladies crew is robust as there are 4 gamers on the planet’s prime 10. How do you intend to get to the Nationwide crew?
That’s proper. There are presently a number of Japanese gamers within the prime 10, and I believe the competitors may be very intense, so I’m going to work onerous to surpass them.
You had an excellent 2024 reaching two finals & having received one title within the WTT Tour whereas not taking part in a lot this 12 months. What’s the rationale?
Properly, I solely had a restricted variety of matches, so I fought with the mindset of giving it my all in every match and I believe the key to that’s that I saved ready for the chance to tackle a problem.
Printed – April 01, 2025 12:58 am IST
