A couple of Olympic hopeful table tennis players in Japan are teaming up with Cisco’s Japanese business.
Kasumi Ishikawa and Tomokazu Harimoto will benefit from Cisco’s latest technology in the company’s effort to delve further into the Japanese sports industry, and table tennis particularly. Cisco will provide Ishikawa and Harimoto with Spark collaborative technology that aims to improve communication between the players and their coaches and support teams.
Using the tech, the players will be able to securely share video and data from their matches; strategize by whiteboarding, and conference with coaches and assistants via phone call or message.
“I look forward to integrating the latest technology into my training and daily life,” Ishikawa said in a statement. “I am glad to see brands like Cisco taking an interest in the sport of table tennis, and I am eager to help bring table tennis to new heights across Japan. I could not be more grateful to Cisco or more excited about its support and partnership.”
“As I am often out of Japan for training and competitions, having a network is important for staying in touch with my family, coach, and fans. I am excited that the global network IT company Cisco is supporting me as an athlete,” Harimoto said in the announcement. “I will work hard both as an athlete and as a student toward my next goal of becoming one of the top ten table tennis players in the world and a star athlete in Japan.”
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Along with Cisco’s efforts in table tennis and collaborative technology, it is commencing a partnership with Data Stadium, which provides data analysis services for professional Japanese sports organizations, according to the announcement. The product of that partnership is likely to be a suite of solutions that help athletes train and compete.
Cisco is also working throughout Japan to implement technological solutions in sports venues, namely Cisco Connected Stadium, high-density Wi-Fi and Cisco Vision stadium displays.
“Cisco is proud to be able to demonstrate the importance of its network technology to the sports industry as a whole through its support of world-class athletes Kasumi Ishikawa and Tomokazu Harimoto,” Miyuki Suzuki, Cisco Systems G.K.’s president and general manager, said in a statement. “We are committed to working as a trusted partner in accelerating digital innovation in Japan and in showcasing the enormous possibilities that open up when everything is connected securely.”