The Tiger from Arad The Tiger from Arad The King of the ... - ITTF

THE KING OF THE FUTURE
ITTF GLOBAL JUNIOR PROGRAMME
The King of the FUTURE
There he was, comfortably stretched out; half asleep, ultimately relaxed
in a beach chair just a few meters from the Caribbean Sea. It was a
magical night in Santo Domingo, 35 degrees centigrade, winds calm
and the sky filled with billions of shining stars. On the way to a definitive
stardom of his own the young Japanese – Jun Mizutani had
won the ITTF WJC finals 2005, playing at perhaps 80% of his capacity
and solidifying his position as one of the best juniors in the world.
WRITTEN BY: MIKAEL ANDERSSON PHOTO: © BUTTERFLY
The moment made you wonder
what the youngster had on his
mind. Maybe it was the daily
tough practice routines in Düsseldorf,
Germany, or perhaps a swinging start
for his club in the 2nd Bundesliga, maybe
the next few events on an already filled
calendar, or what about ”home sweet
home” in Japan, far away from the tables
and balls that so quickly have become
his profession.
SINCE HIS INTERNATIONAL DEBUT in the ITTF Global
Junior Programme in Sweden 2002,
Jun Mizutani has been one of the best
and most promising players we have
seen at our events. Today only four
years later junior events may no longer
be his first priority anymore with much
bigger and taunting events coming up.
In many ways he is preparing to carry
the hopes and expectations on his
shoulders from a country, smitten by table
tennis and hungry for success – Japan.
8 • ITTF GLOBAL JUNIOR PROGRAMME
For many years to come Jun will be
one of the poster boys for table tennis at
major ITTF events around the world;
his first official ITTF event was the ITTF
World Cadet Challenge in Malaysia 2003
and the start could have been slightly
better…
IT WAS SOMEWHAT CHAOTIC, as it usually is
during the first day of any major ITTF
event. The Malaysian Table Tennis Association
worked day and night to collect
World Cadet Challenge participants
from all over the world at the Kuala
Lumpur airport for further transport
high up in the mountains to the Genting
Highland resorts; basically one huge hotel
complex hosting thousands of Malaysians
looking for some family entertainment.
Everything under one roof: hotel, a
splendid playing venue and restaurants;
really a perfect set up.
Squeezed for space, the hotel over
booked and with different associations