Ichiro Ogimura
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
table tennis
player. Ogimura's father died when he was two and his mother often worked too late to take care of him. As a teenager, Ogimura practiced table tennis at the hall run by Hisae Uehara in Musashino, Tokyo
. He won the All-Japan National Championship and represented Japan at the World Championships
. He won 12 world titles at the Championships including men's singles in 1954 and 1956, together with 5 consecutive titles in the team competitions.
After his retirement, Ogimura coached overseas in Sweden, China and USA. He got involved in Japanese Olympic Committee and Japan Table Tennis Association. He became an executive member of the International Table Tennis Federation
in 1973 and president in 1987. In 1994, Ogimura died of lung cancer. He was inducted into the ITTF Hall of Fame in 1997.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
player. Ogimura's father died when he was two and his mother often worked too late to take care of him. As a teenager, Ogimura practiced table tennis at the hall run by Hisae Uehara in Musashino, Tokyo
Musashino, Tokyo
is a city located in Tokyo, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 137,222 and a population density of 12,788.63 persons per km². The total area is 10.73 km².The city was founded on November 3, 1947...
. He won the All-Japan National Championship and represented Japan at the World Championships
World Table Tennis Championships
The World Table Tennis Championships are held since 1926, biennially since 1957. Seven events were included in the Championships. The World Team Table Tennis Championships, which include men's team and women's team events, were first their own competition in 2000. The Team Championships are held in...
. He won 12 world titles at the Championships including men's singles in 1954 and 1956, together with 5 consecutive titles in the team competitions.
After his retirement, Ogimura coached overseas in Sweden, China and USA. He got involved in Japanese Olympic Committee and Japan Table Tennis Association. He became an executive member of the International Table Tennis Federation
International Table Tennis Federation
The International Table Tennis Federation is the governing body for all national table tennis associations.-Founding history:The ITTF was founded in 1926, the nine founding members being Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, India, Sweden and Wales...
in 1973 and president in 1987. In 1994, Ogimura died of lung cancer. He was inducted into the ITTF Hall of Fame in 1997.