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Ichiro Ogimura

Portrait of Ichiro Ogimura, the legendary Japanese table tennis champion and innovator who helped shape modern table tennis.

Table Tennis Legend

卓球界のレジェンド

Ichiro Ogimura was a mythical figure in table tennis.

His offensive playing style and sharp mental focus drew inspiration from Samurai, martial arts, and zen philosophy. Substituting the sword for the paddle, he defined how the modern game is played.

World Champion

世界チャンピオン

In 1954, at the World Championships in Wembley, London, Ogimura entered the international table tennis stage for the first time.

With the whole world watching, the 21-year-old underdog from Japan defeated one world-class player after the next, becoming the first non-European player in history to win the World Championship title.

This was just the beginning. He would go on to win a total of 12 World Championship titles, making him one of the best players of all time.

Ichiro Ogimura leading the Japanese national team after winning the World Table Tennis Championships in 1959, marking the rise of Japan and Ogimura as a global table tennis legend.
Experimental table tennis racket developed by Ichiro Ogimura, showing the legendary world champion’s role as an innovator in equipment and sports technology.

Innovator

イノベーター

Even beyond the court, Ogimura revolutionized the sport itself.

To perfect his game, he developed new, groundbreaking materials and equipment, ranging from rackets to apparel and footwear, becoming a pioneer in sportswear and sports equipment development.

Coach of Champions

チャンピオンたちのコーチ

After his active career, Ogimura traveled the world, coaching top-level national teams and training the next generation of World Champions like Hans Alser, Stellan Bengtsson, and Zhuang Zedong.

Ichiro Ogimura coaching Kjell Johansson in 1968, showing the legendary table tennis world champion training future European champions as part of his global coaching legacy.
Cover of Time magazine from April 26, 1971, showing the U.S. table tennis team wearing Koyo Bear Sharpman shoes at the Great Wall of China during the historic Ping Pong Diplomacy that followed the 1971 World Championships in Nagoya, Japan.

Ping Pong Diplomat

ピンポン外交官

Crossing borders, Ogimura finds his future calling: bringing people, cultures, and even nations closer together through the sport of table tennis.

He becomes a key figure in the “Ping-pong Diplomacy” of the early 1970s, brokering a sports-led détente between the United States and the People's Republic of China.

Cover of the book “Ichiro Ogimura: A Sporting Legend and His Global Mission” by Cheryl Roberts, documenting how the table tennis champion helped lead the Ping Pong Diplomacy between China and the United States.
Ichiro Ogimura with Chinese and Japanese officials during the Ping Pong Diplomacy of the early 1970s, when table tennis helped open relations between China, Japan, and the United States.
Japanese magazine cover featuring Ichiro Ogimura, highlighting his role as a world champion and international table tennis leader who helped North and South Korea through sport.

Unifier

統一コリアチーム

His efforts also led to North and South Korea participating as a unified Korean Team at the 1991 Table Tennis World Championships in Chiba, Japan.

Spectators holding the unified Korea flag at an international table tennis event, symbolizing North and South Korea competing together under one banner.