Hitomi Sato has been promoted from candidate status to Japan’s women’s national squad, with Mima Ito absent from the updated seven-player roster. The Japan Table Tennis Association announced its player and coaching lists on October 15, Japanese magazine World Table Tennis reports. Sato joins Miwa Harimoto, Hina Hayata, Satsuki Odo, Honoka Hashimoto, Miyuu Nagasaki and Rin Mende..[1]
Sato’s promotion follows her run to the women’s singles final at the China Smash, which lifted her to eighth in the world rankings. Ito, who was included in the squad for the first half of the fiscal year, does not appear on either the national-team roster or the updated candidate list.[2]
The men’s squad retains all five players from the first half of the fiscal year: Sora Matsushima, Tomokazu Harimoto, Shunsuke Togami, Hiroto Shinozuka and Yukiya Uda. The 15-player men’s candidate list is also unchanged.[3]
Seiya Kishikawa continues as men’s head coach, while Ei Nakazawa remains in charge of the women’s team.
