[Table tennis] All-Japan table tennis champion who professes to love professional wrestling. Shunsuke Togami's Humble Big Mouth

"Harimoto is a player who will keep an eye on his back from now on, and one day he will be able to match his ability and overtake him." (Togami)

Table tennis All Japan Champion, Shunsuke Togami

Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Jun Mizutani withdrew from the front line, and Tomokazu Harimoto (Kinoshita group), ranked 4th in the world at the All Japan Table Tennis Championships at the end of January, lost in the 6th round. It was Shunsuke Togami (Meiji Univ.) who won the championship with a power drive from hand. The day after winning the championship, Table Tennis Kingdom conducted a long interview. He speaks calmly and modestly, but his words are powerful. If you pick up only the wording, you can say it's a big mouth. Come to think of it, there used to be a champion called Big Mouth in the world of table tennis, but the new All Japan champion likes professional wrestling, but he's not a heel (villain). Below is an excerpt from the "Champion Interview". --As a pro wrestling fan, you were thinking about the final (winning) pose when the victory was in sight, weren't you? Togami: Yes (laughs). As a professional wrestling fan, I've been thinking about how I should go with this since I entered the tournament. What I did at the venue was a pose called "Bullet Club" that put the team's spirits up. There is a pose where the right hand is pushed up, and I wanted to do it.ーーI wanted to see that (laughs). Did you forget? Togami: Well, given those two choices, I ended up going for the cheap pie (laughs). I will do it next year (laughs). --What does the existence of Tomokazu Harimoto's classmate Yukiya Uda (former all-Japan champion, Meiji University classmate) mean to you? Togami: I think I am who I am today because of the two of you. Harimoto, in particular, is a player that I will be watching over him from now on, and one day I should be able to match his ability and overtake him. I have to overcome it someday. Rather than fighting alongside Harimoto, I want to fight while overtaking him. It is a big presence. ---In an interview right after winning the championship, he said, "Mr. Mizutani has a lot to say." He predicted that "the ice age will come for Japanese men." Togami: Regarding the ice age, I also have something to say. It may be an ice age right now, but I wanted to say that I want to lead the Japanese boys and lead them to the next level. "Japan without Jun Mizutani" is now the time to change, and I want to stand at the top at the beginning of the new era, and someday surpass Harimoto and show everyone my back. (From the latest issue of Table Tennis Kingdom, Shunsuke Togami's champion interview) ◇◇◇ "Ice Age Prophecy" by Jun Mizutani, a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics. The quiet new champion Shunsuke Togami has magma hot enough to melt that ice age within himself. Will Harimoto help push Japanese boys to the top of the world, or will they really face an ice age like Mizutani predicted? It can be said that the future of Japan is entrusted to Togami's right-hand man, and I would like to expect the appearance of a young player who can push this champion aside.

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