JOHOR BARU, June 30 — Like any teenage boy, Tomakazu Harimoto squirmed uncomfortably as team captain Jiang Jialang planted a cheeky birthday kiss on his cheek in front of the guests and media gathered for the opening ceremony of the T2 Asia Pacific Table Tennis League (T2APAC) at the T2Cavern at Pinewood Studios on Tuesday.
But this baseball-loving Japanese youngster — who turned 14 on Tuesday — is no ordinary teen.
Just last year, the then-12-year-old became the youngest player to qualify for the men’s singles quarter-final of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour in in Slovenia.
He served notice of his budding talent again at the World Junior Championships, when, at the age of 13 years and 163 days old, he clinched the title to become the youngest-ever world junior champion.
Tomakazu went on to create shockwaves on the senior stage, claiming the scalps of several top-ranked players at the world championships and world tour. At the recent World Championships in Dusseldorf, he defeated compatriot and world No. 6 Jun Mizutani, who won a bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, in the second round.
He followed up that feat with a giant-slaying feat over Belarus’s six-time European champion Vladimir Samsonov in this month’s China Open, before pairing up with Yuto Kizukuri to upset his idol, China’s reigning world champions Fan Zhengdong and Xu Xin in the men’s doubles at the same event.
But the shy teenager shrugged off his achievements in an interview on Tuesday.
“I just don’t think so much, I just concentrate on training,” he said.
“My parents say don’t be too happy, just got out and fight with your opponent, and don’t get too arrogant.”
The young paddler is just one of many promising talents from Japan who have emerged on the international table tennis scene in recent years as the country prepares to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Other players who have made a huge impact include world No 10 Mima Ito, who at 16 was the youngest table tennis medallist (women’s team bronze) at the Rio Olympics, while her 17-year-old teammate Miu Hirano (7) beat three Chinese top seeds at this year’s Asian Championships to become the youngest-ever Asian champion.
Born and raised in Japan by his China-born parents, Tomakazu started playing the sport at the age of two.
His father, Yu Harimoto, is a coach and former China youth player, while his mother Zhang Ling won the team gold with China at the 1995 World Team Championships.
The 14-year-old may still be a teenager, but he is clear about what he wants to achieve in his budding young career. “When I beat Jun, I was very happy, and school friends come up to me and told me that I did well,” he said.
“I hope to get a gold medal at the Olympic Games. I need to grow up and get better, develop myself physically and get stronger in order to do that.”
This prodigious young talent has already got the table tennis world excited, as five-time Chinese world champion Jiang, who is captain of Team JJ at the T2APAC, said: “I picked him because he is very talented, and he’s only 14. I was 19 when I won the world championship, I have observed this boy and seen him play, and I’m very impressed with him.
“He’s got chance to be world No 1…Some people disapprove of him coming (originally) from China, but as long as you have results, you can stand on the international stage.” — TODAY
