Recent table tennis world cup winner Miu Hirano is hoping an upcoming stint in China will serve her in well and allow her to speed up her development ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 16-year-old made a triumphant return to Narita airport on Tuesday, two days after becoming the youngest player to win the women's singles title, and first Japanese to do so. Her win was an amazing feat for such a young player but had the caveat that she did it after Chinese players withdrew from the tournament.
"I was aiming for a podium finish at first, but I changed my target to winning the title after the two Chinese players pulled out," Hirano said. "It was huge for me to win it when everyone was looking to do so with no Chinese players."