Tournaments

26 Jan 2017

Present at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games but in a reserve capacity; there was no opportunity to demonstrate her skills. Kasumi Ishikawa, Ai Fukuhara and Mima Ito formed the selection.

However, since that time there has been a quite remarkable run of success for Miu Hirano. She has surprised many; her performances excelling expectations.

by Henry Chen

She took full advantage of the fact that there was no Chinese presence in Philadelphia last October to win the Seamaster 2016 Women’s World Cup.

More recently she won the Women’s Singles title at the All-Japanese National Championships which concluded in Tokyo on Sunday 22nd January.

Equally, although not headline news, in the 2016 Chinese Women’s Super League, she performed most creditably; three wins, eight losses may not appear outstanding results but in that company, they were most worthy performances and certainly helped in the learning process.

Now for the 16 year old, the next major quest is to repeat those performances in Düsseldorf at the forthcoming Liebherr 2017 World Championships.

In the German city, she will line up alongside, Kasumi Ishikawa, the player she beat in the All Japanese National Championships final.

“Miu Hirano played well, bringing her 150 per cent strength into the table. Her service completely controlled the advantage. I feel that her biggest growth is in her self-confidence”, Kasumi Ishikawa

Technically, the skills of Miu Hirano are well honed, the most important factor is no doubt the increased self-belief; certainly the current thinking is positive.

“I am hoping to win against at least one Chinese player and be able to clinch a medal. If I will be able to perform the same way I did against Kasumi Ishikawa, then winning against a Chinese contender would not be hard. I hope to properly absorb all the lessons I gained from the Chinese Super League and use them to win.” Miu Hirano

Success in Philadelphia was a major stepping stone for Miu Hirano, victory in Tokyo was a third, now can Düsseldorf be a fourth?

Liebherr 2017 World Championships Miu Hirano
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