Table tennis: Shinozuka, Togami win long-awaited world doubles title
KYODO NEWS - 3 hours ago - 20:38 | Sports, All
Hiroto Shinozuka and Shunsuke Togami became the first Japanese players to win the men's doubles title at the world table tennis championships in 64 years on Sunday.
The second-seeded duo defeated sixth-seeded Taiwanese Kao Cheng-jui and Lin Yun-ju 6-11, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-6 on the final day of the championships at Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.
Japan's previous men's doubles title was won by Nobuya Hoshino and Koji Kimura in 1961.
In the decisive fifth game, Shinozuka, 21, and Togami, 23, won four straight points from 6-5 to set up their first match point before sealing victory at the second attempt.
"We declared that we would win the gold medal when we came (to the tournament), but I didn't really think we could do it," Shinozuka said. "It's unbelievable. This is something I might experience only once in my life. I want to cherish this for a week or so."
Togami said, "The first world title in 64 years...I'm so happy. We dropped the first game because of my errors, but a fired-up Hiroto Shinozuka was alongside me."
Japan finished the championships with one gold, one silver and two bronze medals after competing in five events.
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