OOAK Table Tennis Forum has just published an exclusive interview with the great Norio Takashima. Special thanks goes to Steven Feltstein who organised this interview, and of course to Mr Norio Takashima who obviously spent a great deal of time answering all our questions!

Norio Takashima was one of the best defensive players in the history of table tennis. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, he was the number one defensive player in the world. After the 1975 World Championships in India, in which he reached the semi-finals, his world ranking was number 5. On the way to the semi-finals, Takashima beat Milan Orlanski, Jacques Secretin, and Kjell Johannson, until losing 3-2 to Anton Stipancic. (That match with Stipancic was also famous for its rain delay!) He also reached the quarter-finals in the 1979 World Championships.

Read more about this great player and the full Norio Takashima Interview here.

Mr Norio Takashima in his prime

Mr. NORIO TAKASHIMA in recent times.

Click here to go directly to the interview