People :
Ace of the Unbeatable Table Tennis Club
Mr. Yuichi Tokiyoshi

Born in Aichi Prefecture, 1985. Graduated from Kyoto Prefectural Higashiyama High School. Currently a junior in the School of Sports Science and member of Prof. Junichi Kasai's Seminar. Winner of the Kanto Student Table Tennis Singles Championship in 2005. His hobby is shopping. A member of the Kanto Student Team for the Asia Pro Tour of Taipei and China (came first in the domestic elimination round).

Yuichi is an easy-going, articulate person whose sense of determination comes across directly. His father was a table tennis player and ran a small table tennis school at home. Yuichi's spartan education began when he was very small and his head barely reached the table tennis table. “He'd wake me up just to take me to the practice room,” he said with a laugh. “I really hated that!” After 300 practice swings he was allowed to hit the ball, but if he hit it badly he had to start all over again. On his way to mastering the basic techniques he often had to make tens of thousands of practice swings a day.

“I believe that my father entrusted me with a dream that he couldn't achieve himself. I surpassed him at the All-Japan Championship when I was in the second year of elementary school. To become a top player I guess you need the luck to find a good trainer. In my case, my father taught me the basics and made me the player that I am today.” Yuichi comes from a table tennis family and his younger sister is also a player. His most memorable game was at the All-Japan Championship when he was in the second year of Junior High School. At that time he had just lost his mother. He decided “To win this championship for my mother” and after long, hard training he achieved his ambition.

He now has a contract with a sponsoring company and has often played international matches. His clear objective remains “To become a professional player and to play in foreign countries”. Not only physical and mental strength but this kind of determination is necessary for a top player. “I've seen many players drop out because of other interests. If you want to go to the top, you have to make up your mind. It all depends on whether you can get back to training or not.”

These days the Waseda University Table Tennis Club ranks top with the Aomori University Table Tennis Club. Yuichi has contributed greatly to the Club's success. After entering Waseda he was in a dilemma over his future goals and his current studies. He even considered dropping out to concentrate on table tennis. His career plans after retirement from the sport made him decide to stay on at university.

His current goal is playing at the Beijing Olympics. As his ambitions grow, the world at large is set to become his stage.