From Paris substitute to All-day Championship, 18-year-old Matsushima Hirokaku aims at Los Angeles

[Olympic Official Website] From Paris substitute to the All-day Championship, the 18-year-old Matsushima Hirokawa points to Los Angeles. Matsushima: Lin Shidong and Felix are both powerful, but I think they can compete with them. But there is still a 'one point difference' distance, and I will try my best to narrow this gap until I can bite every point.

In the world ranking of men's singles for table tennis, Matsushima Hirou ranked 20th in the world, and is the second domestic player after Japanese ace player Tomokazu Kazuma. As a substitute, he participated in the 2024 Olympics in Paris with the Japanese team, and then reached the top and became the king of Japan. This next generation of ace is constantly striving for the new Olympics.

It has been a year since the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. At this quadrennial event, athletes have accumulated valuable experience that can be said to be only once in their lives. However, it is not only those who have unforgettable experiences that have made it to the stadium. As athletes who went on the bench and worked silently behind the scenes, they also personally felt the Olympic atmosphere and made the oath of "being representatives next time." Now, 18-year-old table tennis player Matsushima is one of them, and he is working tirelessly to improve himself.

In May this year, during the World Table Tennis Championships held in Doha, Qatar, Songdo firmly stated in an interview with the Olympics: "I want to bring this unwillingness to the competition" and set his sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

In the summer of 2024, at the Summer Olympics held in Paris, the capital of France, the Japanese men's table tennis team played against the French team away in the men's team bronze medal competition for three consecutive Olympic medals. After fierce battles, they lost 2-3 and finally won the regrettable fourth place.

At that time, 17-year-old Matsushima Hirokazu witnessed the game not far away. He is the fourth player after Tomokazu Kazumaki, Daito Shinozuka and Junsuke Togaki, who are 4 years older, and he is the fourth player after Tomokazu, who is 6 years older, and he participates as a substitute team.

"Although I am in a difficult position to participate in the Paris Olympics as a substitute, I think it is still good to be able to feel the atmosphere of the Olympics." Matsushima said when reviewing his Olympic experience: "It is precisely because of this that my unwillingness has turned into motivation, allowing me to win the championship in the All-Japan Championships, WTT Challenge and other events. I am in good shape now. In the future, I will remember this unwillingness and strive to play every game well."

As he said, Matsushima has achieved transformation after experiencing a substitute career in Paris.

In the All-Japan Championship held in January 2025, Togaki Junsuke Togaki lost in the fifth round, while Matsushima played against Tomokazu Kazuma in the semi-finals and faced Shinozuka in the finals, showing an unstoppable offensive posture, and finally reached the top of the Japanese table tennis world. He also became the third youngest All-Japan Championship champion in history after Tomokazu Kazumoto and Jun Mizutani.

In the last All-Japan Championship, Matsushima lost to Dadeon Shinozuka in the sixth round, and that loss greatly affected his Olympic representative selection. Therefore, this championship is of great significance to him.

Matsushima said calmly: "Staff Zhang Ben and Shinozuka are both strong players and members who have participated in the Paris Olympics. I have always hoped to defeat them in large-scale events. This time I can do it in the All-Japan Championship, which greatly increases my confidence."

The sentence "I want to defeat them in large-scale events" reflects Matsushima's strong heart as a competitor.

"I actually like large-scale events and I don't feel too nervous in normal times. If you want to control the tension well, there is actually no special way. I just keep trying to prepare to compete before going to the competition."

Continuing the momentum of the Japanese king, Matsushima was also in a state of unstoppable momentum in the WTT Challenge Taiyuan Station (China) three months later. He defeated Xiang Peng, who won the WTT Championship Championship in the previous week and was highly anticipated by the hosts, and won his first singles championship in the WTT series. With this result, his world ranking rose from 32nd to 23rd, and his ranking in Japan also jumped from 5th to 2nd.

Kikō Matsushima: The eldest son of the table tennis family "I hope to participate in the Olympics with my family in the future"

Kikō Matsushima was born in a table tennis family in Kyoto and was born in 2007. His parents were table tennis players in the industrial group. Under their guidance, the eldest son Huikong, his younger brother and two younger sisters were practicing table tennis hard.

"From my birth to the sixth grade of elementary school, my parents taught me a lot and gave me strict guidance. I think it is because of these experiences that I am now, so I am very grateful to my parents and all the relevant people."

On social platforms, Songdao often introduces the achievements of his younger brothers and sisters, cheering them up, and from this we can see his gentle introduction as a good brother.

"The younger brothers and sisters are younger than me and very cute. I hope they can all become stronger and we can participate in the Olympic Games together in the future."

Although it may take some time to stand on the Olympic stage with my younger brothers and sisters, Huikong, as the eldest son, first set his goal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The growth process of this 18-year-old player is becoming more and more exciting. Looking around the world, Chinese athlete Lin Shidong (ranked first in the world as of August 5) and French athlete Felix Lebron (ranked sixth in the world) who are two years older than him have made his mark in the world table tennis world. They have all become the main force of their respective countries and shine in international competitions. For Songdo, they are undoubtedly long-term competitors in the future.

Matsushima said confidently: "Player Lin Shidong and Felix are both very strong,

, but I think I can compete with them. But there is still a 'one point difference' distance, and I will try my best to narrow this gap until I can bite every point."