By Neha Aggarwal (Interview by Iulia Necula)
Yes, probably you are right. Mizuki Morizono is the cousin sister of the star sibling table tennis players, Masataka Morizono and Misaki Morizono of Japan.
Mizuki is present at the Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Korea Open in the beautiful city of Incheon, and started her campaign on a positive note in the Under-21 Women’s Singles event winning over Yuka Minagawa 3-1 ( 12-10, 3-11, 8-11, 6-11) in the round of 16 matches.
“I tried to play my best, I felt good and I am happy to win. I hope I can repeat the performance tomorrow also in the Women’s Singles competition,” said an elated Mizuki Morizono
The world no.80 will now face host nation’s Lee Eunhye in the preliminary round of the Women’s Singles and top seed Choi Hyojoo (KOR) in the quarter-finals of the Under-21 Women Singles.
Family Affair
The 21-year old Japanese made her international debut in 2009 at the Hong Kong Junior and Cadet Open and continued her sojourn until 2011 China Open where she reached the quarter finals of the Women’s Doubles partnering Miyu Maeda. Since then, she was not seen on international duty for Japan, until coming back into the scene at the 2016 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open.
Table tennis is in her blood. The youngest of Morizono family, Mizuki grew up watching her older cousins Masataka and Misaki and immediately fell in love with the game. Her parents, father Minoru and mother, Mariko are also former table tennis players.
Moreover, Mizuki’s father, and Masataka and Misaki’s father are twins, they all share the same passion. The passion for the sport of table tennis.
No wonder Mizuki fell in love with the game as a young kid!
The siblings have been a known face at the international arena since a long time now. Currently 22-year old Masataka is ranked 59th in the world in Men’s Singles and together with Yuya Oshima, the pair is currently ranked no.1 in Men’s Doubles, with the honor of winning five ITTF World Tour titles in Men’s Doubles.
Moreover, 25-year old Misaki Morizono is ranked 31 in the global charts in the Women’s Singles. She is the winner of Women’s Doubles at the 2017 Belarus Open and 2016 Bulgaria Open. At the Bulgaria Open, she was also the runner up in the Women’s Singles.
Mizuki on the other hand, has a lot of catching up to do. But do the achievements of her star cousins pressurize her?
“I never felt pressure from any member of my family, they are all very supportive!” claims Mizuki.
Aiming high
Just like all other Asian players, she practices around 6-7 hours everyday, and sometimes with her cousin Misaki as well. They all practice and play for different teams in Japan and Mizuki lives in Tokyo.
Mizuki has her aims clear.
“I want to win an ITTF World Tour U21 Women’s Singles title and enter into the top 50 in the world in Women’s Singles by the end of 2017,” says Mizuki Morizono
A lover of mountain and ice climbing, Mizuki is determined. She works hard and table tennis runs in her blood.
Soon, the Morizono family will see a new star. After all, there must be something with the MM’s and TT’s, isn’t it?
