(by Steve Hopkins)
Tomokazu Harimoto beat Xu Yingbin, Lin Yun-Ju, Oh Junsung, and Lin Shidong as he won Men’s Singles at the 2024 ITTF-Asian Table Tennis Championships. Lin Shidong was the last of the Chinese players after a series of upsets – but it was Harimoto who headlined on the final day.
Harimoto started strong, winning the first two games. Shidong one the third game. Harimoto dominated the fourth game from start to finish – jumping ahead early and winning 11-5.
China won Men’s Teams and Mixed Doubles – but the world’s dominant table tennis power failed to win any of the other five events. The Chinese women uncharacteristically fell to Japan in the Teams Final. Men’s Doubles went to Malaysia. Women’s Doubles went to Japan. Women’s Singles went to North Korea. When’s the last time at a major event that the table tennis community looked at the results and said, “What’s Up With China”? It could be the venue or the fans or the altitude or the humidity (or perhaps morale or protest as Ma Long’s retirement was announced??), but at this tournament, Japan has been the dominant country.
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