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The native form of this personal name is Mizutani Jun. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Jun Mizutani (水谷 隼, Mizutani Jun, born 9 June 1989) is a retired Japanese table tennis player.[1] He became the youngest Japanese national champion at the age of 17.[3] His consecutive singles titles at the national championships from 2007 to 2011 made him the first man to win the event five times in a row.[4]

Throughout his career, Mizutani competed in 4 Olympic games from 2008 to 2020. After defeating Vladimir Samsonov for the bronze medal by 4–1 in the 2016 Summer Olympics, he finally seized his first singles medal in the three main international tournaments. It was also the first Olympic table tennis singles medal of his country.[5]

Career

2016

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Mizutani earned a bronze medal in the singles event which was his first singles medal at the Olympics, after defeating Vladimir Samsonov in the bronze medal match.[6] Later, he received a silver medal in the team event with his teammates Koki Niwa and Maharu Yoshimura losing to the Chinese team.

2021

In March, Jun Mizutani played in the WTT Star Contender event at WTT Doha, but he suffered a round-of-16 upset to Ruwen Filus.[7]

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Mizutani and Mima Ito defeated Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin in the mixed doubles finals to become the first non-Chinese to win gold at an Olympic table tennis event since 2004. Additionally, Mizutani earned a bronze medal in the team event alongside Koki Niwa and Tomokazu Harimoto beating the South Korean team.[8][9]

Mizutani retired after the 2020 Summer Olympics which was confirmed by World Table Tennis on 10 February 2022. His increasing sight difficulties had forced him to wear special glasses during matches and he cited that it contributed to him retiring.[10]

Personal life

Mizutani married his girlfriend on 22 November 2013. On 14 October 2014, he announced on his blog that his daughter had been born.[11]

Mizutani appeared in the 2017 film Mixed Doubles as himself.

Career records

Singles

As of August 12, 2016[12]

Men's doubles

  • World Championships: SF (2009)
  • ITTF World Tour winner (2): China (Suzhou), Japan Open 2009; Runner-up (4): Chinese Taipei Open 2006, German, English Open 2009, Hungarian Open 2010
  • Asian Games: QF (2006)
  • Asian Championships: SF (2007)

Mixed doubles

  • World Championships: round of 16 (2009)
  • ITTF Tour Winner (2020)
  • Olympic: Winner (2021)

Team

  • Olympics: 5th (2008, 2012), 2nd (2016)
  • World Championships: 3rd (2008, 10, 12, 14), 2nd (2016)
  • World Team Cup: 5th (2009)
  • Asian Games: SF (2010, 14)
  • Asian Championships: 2nd (2007, 09, 12, 13)

References

  1. ^ a b "ITTF player's profiles". International Table Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  2. ^ "ITTF world ranking". International Table Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on December 10, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  3. ^ "Mizutani, Hirano claim third titles". Kyodo News. January 19, 2009. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  4. ^ "Mizutani makes table tennis history". Kyodo News. January 24, 2011. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  5. ^ "Triumph over adversity: MIZUTANI Jun ready to seize golden opportunity". olympics.com. October 5, 2021.
  6. ^ "Playback Rio: MIZUTANI Jun 'an inspiration for a generation'". olympics.com. September 9, 2022.
  7. ^ "6 Ruwen Filus Shots To Watch Out For In The WTT Doha Finals". edgesandnets.com. March 12, 2021. Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  8. ^ "Japan's Ito and Mizutani Win Olympic Mixed Doubles Gold". edgesandnets.com. July 26, 2021. Archived from the original on July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  9. ^ "Japan beats Korea, claims bronze in men's team table tennis". nbcolympics.com.
  10. ^ "In Focus: Japanese Icon Jun Mizutani Calls Time On Magical Career". worldtabletennis.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023.
  11. ^ "Jun Mizutani: A Father Already!". Archived from the original on October 16, 2014.
  12. ^ "ITTF Statistics". International Table Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  13. ^ "Jun Mizutani's Biography and Olympic Results". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  14. ^ "Jun Mizutani wins 2014 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals". Meniscus Magazine. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2015.

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