Kaii Yoshida (Japanese: 吉田 海偉; Chinese: 宋海伟; pinyin: Sòng Hǎiwěi; born 16 May 1981 in Xinji, Hebei, China) is a Chinese-born Japanese table tennis player who is ranked among the top fifty athletes in his sport.
Yoshida started playing table tennis at the age of 7 at the Hebei Institute of Physical Education under coach Liu Wenqing. He is a right handed pen hold grip player. Unlike the Chinese player Wang Hao, he only uses one side of his racket. Yoshida was spotted by a Japanese Coach in 1997. He moved to Japan and commenced his international career in competitive table tennis after completing 3 years of tertiary education and 2 years of university education. In 2004 he became a Japanese citizen.
As a singles player, Yoshida was ranked 21st in the world as of July 2010[1] His highest ranking was in June 2010, when he was 20th. He won his 1st Men's Singles title in the 2006 ITTF Pro Tour Serbian Open. More recently, he achieved a 3rd position in the 2008 ITTF Pro Tour Chile Open. Yoshida is also a key player for Men's Team and Doubles, and Mixed Doubles events. Together with his team, he managed to achieve 2nd position in the 2007 ASIAN Table Tennis Championships in Yangzhou, China. In addition, they clinched third position in the 2008 World Table Tennis Team Championships in Guangdong, China.
Achievements
edit| Event | Medal | Date | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | |||
| Men's doubles | Silver | 3 July 2004 | ITTF Pro Tour US Open Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| 2005 | |||
| Men's Team | Bronze | 2005 | ASIAN Table Tennis Championships Jeju-do, South Korea |
| Mixed doubles | Bronze | 2005 | ASIAN Table Tennis Championships Jeju-do, South Korea |
| 2006 | |||
| Men's doubles[2] | Bronze | 24 June 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Brazilian Open São Paulo, Brazil |
| Men's singles[3] | Gold | 22 October 2006 | ITTF Pro Tour Serbian Open Belgrade, Serbia |
| 2007 | |||
| Men's Team[4] | Bronze | 23 September 2007 | ASIAN Table Tennis Championships Yangzhou, China |
| 2008 | |||
| Men's Team[5] | Bronze | 1 March 2008 | Evergrande Real Estate 2008 World Team Table Tennis Championships Guangzhou, China |
| Men's singles[6] | Bronze | 27 April 2008 | ITTF Pro Tour Chile Open Santiago, Chile |
| 2009 | |||
| Men's singles[7] | Bronze | 14 June 2009 | ITTF Pro Tour Japan Open Wakayama, Japan |
| Men's Team[8] | Silver | 19 November 2009 | ASIAN Table Tennis Championships Lucknow, India |
| Men's Team[9] | Silver | 6 December 2009 | East Asian Games Santiago, Chile |
| 2010 | |||
| Men's Team[10] | Bronze | 30 May 2010 | LIEBHERR 2010 World Team Table Tennis Championships Moscow, Russia |
References
edit- ^ July World Ranking, International Table Tennis Federation, 2010-07-01, archived from the original on 2010-07-06, retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Ian Marshall (2006-06-24), Crowd Favourites, Tiago Apolónia and João Monteiro, Progress to Men’s Doubles Final, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ Ian Marshall (2006-10-22), Power Prevails as Kaii Yoshida is Crowned Men’s Singles Champion in Belgrade, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ Ian Marshall (2007-09-20), Korea Reaches Men's Team Final as Ryu Seung Min Leads by Example, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ Ian Marshall (2008-03-01), Title Retained by China as Brave Japanese Run Ends with Creditable Silver, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2009-03-28.
- ^ Ian Marshall (2008-04-27), Cool Korean Outs Genial Japanese to Reach Men’s Singles Final, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Ian Marshall (2009-06-13), Statistical Upsets but Reality Suggests Otherwise, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Ian Marshall (2009-11-19), China Performs the Great Escape as Jun Mizutani Suffers Agonies in Lucknow, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Ian Marshall (2009-12-07), Table Tennis Results, East Asian Games Official Website, retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Ian Marshall (2010-05-29), Breathtaking Performance Steers China Inexorably to Men’s Team Final, International Table Tennis Federation, retrieved 2009-03-28.
