25 Sep 2018

Staged every year since 2014, the aim being to establish close relationships between researchers from the Japanese Table Tennis Association and the International Table Tennis Federation; once again thanks the co-operation of both organisations, the 2018 Sport Science and Medicine Committee International Meeting (SSMC) was held in Tokyo on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th September.

Overall 33 sport science researchers participated in the meeting; ten SSMC members were present alongside one representative from Asia, one from Europe and 21 Japanese sport science researchers.

by Shiro Matsuo MD, ITTF Sports Science and Medical Committee

On the first day, Dr. Shiro Matsuo, former SSMC Chair, declared the meeting opening. First, Professor Miran Kondric, Chair of the ITTF Sports Science and Medical Committee, gave the keynote lecture, the subject being the “Current status and future of racket sports scientific research”.

Lectures presented Professor Miran Kondric are always encouraging; this one was no exception. He requested a small group discussion; it proved a great success. We debated and exchanged opinions about table tennis research; we grew to know each other better.

Following, there were five oral presentations. The quality of the research was outstanding. There were many highly professional questions. We had an active discussion which resulted in most presentations running overtime; however that was welcomed, not complaints.

After the oral presentations, we moved to poster presentations. We changed the Japanese researchers’ presentation style to the poster presentation this year. The initiative proved successful; it meant we were able to have plenty of time for discussion and deepen our mutual understanding.

On the second day, there were four research presentations; just as on the first day we had wonderful discussions. We finished the meeting and deemed it a success. Finally, Professor Kazuto Yoshida, the Japanese Table Tennis Association SSMC Chair expressed his gratitude.

After the meeting, we visited the Japan Open badminton tournament; we were invited by Mr. David Cabello from the Badminton World Federation who had given a special lecture at the last year’s meeting. We agreed to build good relationships in the field of medicine and sports science.

Overall, the meeting provided a great deal of knowledge and motivated everyone. There were active exchanges of opinion more than before. I think that the quality of the meeting is improving year by year. Also, our co-operation and collaboration is equal to that of other racket sports.

We will continue with international collaborative studies and will contribute to develop table tennis and racket sports by means of scientific research.

Sports Science Professor Miran Kondric PhD Dr. Shiro Matsuo David Cabello