How it unfolded
Mixed doubles became an Olympic event for the first time at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, and host nation Japan concentrated much of its effort on this single event. Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito had paired together for several years, touring international events to build chemistry. Their July 26, 2021 final at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium was against China's Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen. Japan dropped the first two games to fall behind 0-2, and the match appeared to be slipping away. But Ito turned the tide with tight, table-hugging returns, and with the angles the left-handed Mizutani could generate, the two split the next four games before winning a seven-game battle 4-3. It was Japan's first Olympic table tennis gold. China's loss in an Olympic table tennis final was its first since Wang Hao fell to Ryu Seung-min in Athens in 2004, a gap of 17 years. It was the last Olympics for the 32-year-old Mizutani, while Ito left the Games with three medals — gold, silver and bronze.
Why it still matters
This is the most recent breach of China's Olympic monopoly and the moment Japan's development system bore fruit. Of the 42 Olympic golds contested from 1988 through 2024, China missed only five, and this match is the most recent of those. Japan has since consistently reached team finals behind Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata, establishing itself as the country with the deepest player pool outside China.