The consummate hosts, Japan rolled out the red carpet for the world's athletes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Despite their hospitality, the host nation certainly hoped that their young table tennis stars could interrupt China's habitual hegemony. Leading the charge were 20-year-old Mima Ito (pictured, left) and 18-year-old Tomokazu Harimoto (right). The world #4 Harimoto fell far short of medal contention. In the round of 16, he was upset by Darko Jorgić of Slovenia, 4-2. Meanwhile, both of China's representatives are still alive in the draw. Defending gold medalist Ma Long takes on Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov in one semifinal, while world #1 Fan Zhendong faces Chinese Taipei's Lin Yun-Ju in the other. The world #2 Ito, for her part, had already secured Japan's first-ever gold medal in table tennis on Monday, winning the mixed doubles title with Jun Mizutani. In the women's singles semis, however, she succumbed to fellow 20-year-old Sun Yingsha of China, 4-0. In the other semi, world #1 Chen Meng swept Yu Mengyu of Singapore to ensure women's singles gold for China, an unbroken streak as old as Olympic table tennis itself. Mima Ito prepares to battle Sun Yingsha for the bronze medal tomorrow. Despite their stumbles in singles, Harimoto and Ito are still vital to the medal prospects for their respective teams. While Japan has rolled out the red carpet for the world, they would prefer not to see any red flags hoisted highest at the medal ceremonies.

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