Sixteen-year-olds Sara Shimizu and Rise Kudo led a Japanese quartet into the ladies’s snowboard halfpipe ultimate Tuesday on the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Shimizu, the runner-up on the world championships final yr in Switzerland, scored 87.50 factors to qualify second and Kudo earned 84.75 for her second run to position fourth at Livigno Snow Park.

Two-time defending Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim of the United States topped qualification with 90.25, whereas Japan’s Beijing Games bronze medalist Sena Tomita was ninth and 2022-23 general World Cup winner Mitsuki Ono scraped by to the 12-woman ultimate from the sector of 24 in eleventh place.

Shimizu pulled out early from her first run and wanted a powerful rating along with her second and final run, however the teenager nonchalantly landed two 900s amongst her six methods to surge up the standings.

“I’m relieved to have nailed the second run. I dropped in a bit too vertical than usual with my first one,” Shimizu stated.

“I was feeling the least nervous out of any competitions I’ve been in so far. I’ve been aiming for this for a long time and I’m enjoying it more than anyone.”

A nerveless Kudo had the least bother regardless of her age, all however guaranteeing qualification with 83.50 on her first run earlier than elevating the bar additional on her second.

“There’s a bit of a special feeling here, compared to other competitions and I was a little nervous, but it didn’t appear in my performance,” Kudo stated. “It’s not often we get so many people gathering from qualifying and it’s fun. It’s like a festival.”

“I’ve never thought I’m strong mentally. But there’s no nervousness or such, as long as you’re performing feeling well. That’s my mindset recently.”

The ultimate is scheduled for Thursday, with Japan trying to win its third gold in northern Italy after large air triumphs by Kira Kimura and Kokomo Murase.

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Under a proposed association, Sony would set up a three way partnership with China’s TCL Electronics Holdings and switch its tv operations into the brand new firm, with TCL holding a 51% stake and Sony 49%, successfully putting administration management with TCL whereas permitting Sony to retain model and know-how involvement. The transfer comes as Sony’s home TV market share fell to eight.4% in 2025, reflecting intensifying competitors and the shrinking profitability of {hardware} manufacturing.

Once a defining product for the Japanese electronics trade, Sony’s tv enterprise traces its world success to the launch of its Trinitron coloration TVs in 1968. Despite that legacy, the broader TV market has change into more and more tough for Japanese producers, with lower-priced fashions dominated by abroad opponents and the premium phase too small to maintain progress. Sony’s TV gross sales for the fiscal yr ended March 2025 fell 9.6% from a yr earlier to 564.1 billion yen, underscoring the structural challenges going through the division.

Industry observers say the deliberate spin-off shouldn’t be seen merely as a defeat in competitors however somewhat as a strategic determination to cut back danger and reallocate sources. While manufacturing and operational administration can be handed to TCL, Sony intends to proceed licensing its model and image-processing applied sciences, enabling it to focus extra closely on higher-margin companies.

Sony Group has in recent times positioned video games, movie, music and anime as its core progress engines, constructed across the monetization of mental property. By fiscal 2025, entertainment-related companies accounted for roughly two-thirds of the group’s general efficiency, practically double their share from a decade earlier. The shift displays a deliberate transformation into an entertainment-driven firm somewhat than a conventional electronics producer.

The way forward for Sony’s subsequent main pillar will rely largely on the way it balances its leisure companies with semiconductor operations and gaming. The PlayStation platform stays central, however questions persist in regards to the long-term progress of console gaming amid the rise of smartphone video games and evolving shopper habits.

Past examples counsel the TV spin-off mannequin can succeed. Toshiba’s REGZA model, offered to China’s Hisense in 2018, rebounded after restructuring and now holds about 26% of Japan’s liquid crystal TV market, in keeping with BCN knowledge. By combining superior image-processing know-how with lower-cost manufacturing, the model regained competitiveness by improved value efficiency.

An identical end result is feasible for Sony’s tv model if the partnership with TCL results in higher value effectivity with out sacrificing high quality. The BRAVIA identify will proceed for use, which means Sony’s model presence in residing rooms is unlikely to vanish completely.

For many years, tv units served because the centerpiece of brand name id in Japanese households, with logos from Sony and different home makers symbolizing status and technological management. As shoppers more and more prioritize value and efficiency over model loyalty, nonetheless, the aggressive panorama has shifted. Even so, a profitable restructuring might enable Sony’s tv heritage to endure in a brand new kind whereas the corporate accelerates its transformation into a worldwide leisure powerhouse.

Source: Kyodo