Tomokazu Harimoto
Tomokazu Harimoto (張本 智和, Harimoto Tomokazu, born June 27, 2003) is a Japanese table tennis player. In 2018, He won the 2018 World Junior Singles and Team Title at the ITTF 2018 World Junior Championship for Japan. The previous players to win the title were Kenta Matsudaira, Koki Niwa, and Jun Mizutani (Teams).
| Tomokazu Harimoto | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg.webp) Harimoto at the 2018 Youth Olympics Final | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Chinese (before 2014) Japanese (after 2014) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Zhang Zhihe (張智和) June 27, 2003 Sendai, Miyagi, Japan[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing style | Right-handed, shakehand grip | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equipment(s) | Tomokazu Harimoto ALC, Butterfly Dignics 05 (Forehand) Tenergy 05 (Backhand) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 3 (January 2019)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 4 (April 2020) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Kinoshita Meister Tokyo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 140 lb (64 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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In August 2017, he became the youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour men's singles title, winning the Czech Open title at the age of 14 years and 61 days.[3] In December 2018, he became the youngest player to win the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals at the age of 15 years and 172 days.[4]
Personal life
Harimoto was born as Zhang Zhihe (simplified Chinese: 张智和; traditional Chinese: 張智和; pinyin: Zhāng Zhìhé) in Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture. His father Zhang Yu (Chinese: 张宇; pinyin: Zhāng Yǔ) and mother Zhang Ling (Chinese: 张凌; pinyin: Zhāng Líng) are both former professional table tennis players from Sichuan province, China. Zhang Ling, at the peak of her career, represented China at the 43rd World Table Tennis Championships in Tianjin.[5]
Harimoto began playing table tennis at the age of two.[6] He became a naturalized citizen of Japan in 2014 and legally changed his surname to Harimoto. After graduating from East Miyagi Elementary School in 2016, he relocated to Tokyo to join the JOC Elite Academy. His pastimes include baseball and reading.[7]
Career
Junior career
Harimoto first won the All-Japan Table Tennis Championships Juniors title in 2010 as a first grader. He would continue to win the tournament for all 6 years of his elementary school years. In 2015, he was chosen to represent Japan at the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in France, becoming the youngest Japanese player to be chosen. However, due to the November 2015 Paris attacks, Harimoto was not able to participate in the tournament.
Aged 12 years and 355 days, Harimoto defeated seasoned professionals Ho Kwan Kit, Hugo Calderano, and teammate Kohei Sambe to win the 2016 U-21 Japan Open title. With the win, he became the youngest winner ITTF World Tour under-21 men's singles title.[1] Later that year, Harimoto won gold medals in the boys' singles and teams events at the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in Cape Town, South Africa. This win was historic, as Harimoto became the youngest winner of the World Junior Championships aged 13 years and 163 days. Harimoto achieved an Under-21 ranking of No. 10 in the world in December 2016.
2017
Harimoto began the year in February at the recently revamped India Open. He reached the finals with victories over Álvaro Robles, Sakai Asuka, Robert Gardos, and local favorite Sharath Kamal, before losing to defending champion Dimitrij Ovtcharov in straight sets.
Records
- June 2016: Youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour under-21 men's singles title (12 years, 355 days).[1]
- December 2016: Youngest ever winner of the boys' singles title at the World Junior Championships (13 years, 163 days).[8]
- August 2017: Youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour men's singles title (14 years, 61 days).[3]
- January 2018: Youngest ever winner of the men's singles title at the Japanese National Championships (14 years, 207 days).[9]
- December 2018: Youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour Grand Finals men's singles title (15 years, 172 days).[10]
Career
ITTF Major tournament performance timeline
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | |
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (S) Singles Tournament; (D) Doubles Tournament; (MD) Mixed Doubles Tournament; (T) Team Tournament.
| Tournament | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Cup | S | QF | ||
| T | F | |||
| World Championships | S | QF | ||
| T | QF | |||
| D | ||||
| MD | ||||
| World Tour Grand Finals | S | QF | W | |
| D | QF | |||
| Olympic Games | S | |||
| T | ||||
Senior career highlights, as of April 2018:[11]
ITTF Career Singles Finals: 8 (5 titles, 3 runner-ups)
| Result | Date | Tournament | Tier | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-Up | February, 2017 | 2017 ITTF World Tour India Open | World Tour |  Dimitrij Ovtcharov |
6-11, 8-11, 4-11, 12-14 |
| Win | August, 2017 | Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Tour Czech Open | World Tour | Timo Boll |
11-3, 4-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 |
| Win | June, 2018 | Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Lion Japan Open | World Tour |  Zhang Jike |
9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 13-11 |
| Win | December, 2018 | 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals | World Tour Grand Finals | Lin Gaoyuan |
11-4, 13-15, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 |
| Runner-Up | June, 2019 | 2019 ITTF World Tour Hong Kong Open | World Tour | Lin Gaoyuan |
3-11, 11-7, 11-8, 6-11, 9-11, 7-11 |
| Win | August, 2019 | 2019 ITTF World Tour Bulgaria Open | World Tour | Zhao Zihao |
11-6, 12-14, 11-5, 13-11, 13-15, 11-4 |
| Runner-Up | December, 2019 | 2019 ITTF World Cup | World Cup | Fan Zhendong |
11-9, 4-11, 11-6, 8-11, 2-11, 7-11 |
| Win | February, 2020 | 2020 ITTF World Tour Hungarian Open | World Tour |  Yukiya Uda |
7-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-6, 11-9 |
ITTF Career Doubles Finals: 2
| Result | Date | Tournament | Tier | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | June, 2017 | 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum China Open | World Tour | Yuto Kizukuri |
Jin Ueda
|
10-12, 11-9, 8-11, 9-11 |
| Runner-up | November, 2017 | 2017 ITTF World Tour Platinum German Open | World Tour Platinum | Yuto Kizukuri |
 Jung Young-sik
|
11-8, 11-3, 5-11, 14-16, 6-11 |
Singles
- World Championships: QF (2017)
- ITTF World Tour Grand Finals: QF (2017), Winner (2018)
- ITTF World Tour:
- Winner: 2017 Czech Open
- Winner: 2018 Japan Open
- Runner-up: 2017 India Open
- Asian Championships: Last 32 (2017)
Men's doubles
- ITTF World Tour Grand Finals: QF (2017)
- ITTF World Tour:
- Runner-up: 2017 China Open, 2017 German Open
Team events
- World Team Championships: QF (2018)
- Team World Cup: Runner-up (2018)
- Asian Championships: SF (2017)
Awards
- ITTF Star Awards: Breakthrough Star (2017)[12]
Record against top-10 players
Harimoto's singles match record against those who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who have been No. 1 in bold:
Statistics correct as of 7 May 2018. * indicates current world rank no. 1.
| Player | Ranking | Record | Win% | Last match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fan Zhendong* |
1 | 1–2 | 33% | Lost (1-4) at 2019 ITTF Asia Cup |
| Timo Boll |
1 | 1–2 | 33% | Lost (11-9, 3-11, 11-13, 5-11, 9-11) at 2018 ITTF Men's World Cup |
| Dimitrij Ovtcharov |
1 | 0-2 | 0% | Lost (7-11, 13-11, 8-11, 14-12, 8-11, 11-5, 7-11) at 2017 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals |
| Xu Xin |
1 | 0-4 | 0% | Lost (11-6, 15-17, 9-11, 5-11, 12-10, 9-11) at 2018 ITTF Austrian Open |
| Ma Long |
1 | 1-2 | 33% | Lost (1-3) at 2019 Asia Cup |
| Zhang Jike |
1 | 2-0 | 100% | Won (4-3) at 2018 ITTF Japan Open |
 Vladimir Samsonov |
1 | 4-0 | 100% | Won (4-3) at 2018 ITTF Czech Open |
| Lin Gaoyuan |
2 | 1-2 | 33% | Lost at 2019 ITTF China Open |
 Chuang Chih-yuan |
3 | 3-1 | 75% | Won (4-11, 11-7, 14-12, 11-8) at 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships |
| Jun Mizutani |
4 | 2-0 | 100% | Won (11-6, 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7) at 2018 ITTF Austrian Open |
| Koki Niwa |
5 | 2-2 | 50% | Lost (2-4) at 2019 Asian Cup |
 Hugo Calderano |
6 | 2-1 | 66% | Won (4-0) at 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals |
 Wong Chun Ting |
6 | 2-1 | 66% | Won (11-3, 11-8, 11-9) at 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships |
| Lee sang-su |
6 | 1-1 | 50% | Won (4-2) at 2018 ITTF Japan Open |
 Marcos Freitas |
7 | 0-2 | 0% | Lost (3-4) at 2018 ITTF Czech Open |
| Jung Young-sik |
7 | 1-1 | 50% | Won (4-2) at 2018 World Tour Platinum Korea Open |
| Kenta Matsudaira |
9 | 0-1 | 0% | Lost (2-4) at 2018 ITTF World Tour Bulgarian Open |
 Gao Ning |
9 | 1-0 | 100% | Won (3-0) at 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships |
| Liang Jingkun |
9 | 1-2 | 33% | Won (4-0) at 2019 ITTF World Tour Qatar Open |
| Jang Woojin |
10 | 2-1 | 66% | Won (4-1) at 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals |
References
- "Tomokazu Harimoto: 12-Year-Old Shakes Up The World". Butterfly Online. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- "ITTF Player Profile / Tomokazu Harimoto". ITTF. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- "Record breaker, Tomokazu Harimoto, youngest .He also won ITTF World Tour men's single title , winning the Japan Open title at the age of 15.ever". ITTF. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- "Amazing form maintained, Tomokazu Harimoto wins in Incheon". International Table Tennis Federation. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- 人民網日本語版. "日本の「希望の星」、弱冠13歳で世界選手権ベスト8に入った張本智和とは？―中国紙". Record China (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- "【卓球】期待の星・張本智和、金のシナリオ！エリートアカデミーで技磨く : スポーツ報知". Archived from the original on 15 November 2016.
- "始動：２０２０を目指して／１ 卓球 東京の頂、新世代の決意 - 毎日新聞". 毎日新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- "Boys' Singles success means Tomokazu Harimoto youngest ever champion". ITTF. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- "14-year-old Tomokazu Harimoto becomes youngest national table tennis singles champion". The Japan Times Online. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- "Amazing form maintained, Tomokazu Harimoto wins in Incheon". ITTF. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
- "ITTF Player Matches / Tomokazu Harimoto". ITTF. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- "Tomokazu Harimoto chosen as ITTF's Breakthrough Star award recipient". The Japan Times Online. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
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