Tomokazu Harimoto facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tomokazu Harimoto |
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Harimoto at the 2018 Youth Olympics Final
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| Nationality | Chinese (before 2014) Japanese (after 2014) |
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| Born | 27 June 2003 Sendai, Miyagi, Japan |
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| Playing style | Right-handed, shakehand grip | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equipment(s) | Butterfly Harimoto Tomokazu Innerforce ALC, Butterfly Dignics 05 (Forehand) Dignics 05 (Backhand) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 2 (22 November 2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current ranking | 3 (14 January 2025) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Ryukyu Asteeda (T.League) TTC Neu-Ulm (TTCLM) |
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| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Tomokazu Harimoto (張本 智和, Harimoto Tomokazu, born 27 June 2003) is a super talented Japanese table tennis player. He's currently ranked number 3 in the world by the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation)! He was born in China, but he became a Japanese citizen in 2014. He even won big titles for Japan at the 2016 World Junior Table Tennis Championships in 2016, both for himself and with his team.
Tomokazu made history several times! In August 2017, when he was just 14 years old, he became the youngest person ever to win an ITTF World Tour men's singles title at the Czech Open. Then, in December 2018, he became the youngest player to win the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals. He was only 15 years old at that time!
Contents
About Tomokazu Harimoto
Tomokazu Harimoto was born as Zhang Zhihe in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. His parents, Yuu Harimoto and Zhang Ling, were both professional table tennis players from China. His mother, Zhang Ling, even played for the Chinese National Table Tennis Team in a World Championship! His parents moved from China to Japan in 1998. Tomokazu also has a younger sister, Miwa Harimoto, who is also a table tennis star.
Tomokazu started playing table tennis when he was only two years old! To compete in the All Japan Championships, he needed to be a Japanese citizen. So, in 2014, when he was in fourth grade, he and his family became Japanese citizens. They changed their last name to Harimoto.
In April 2022, Tomokazu announced that he would be attending Waseda University after finishing high school.
Tomokazu's Amazing Career
Early Success in Table Tennis
Tomokazu first won the All-Japan Table Tennis Championships Juniors title in 2010 when he was just a first grader. He kept winning this tournament every year throughout his elementary school years!
In 2015, he was chosen to represent Japan at the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in France. This made him the youngest Japanese player ever picked for the event. However, he couldn't go because of the November 2015 Paris attacks.
When he was 12 years old, Tomokazu won the 2016 Under-21 Japan Open title. He beat many experienced players to do this. This made him the youngest winner of an ITTF World Tour Under-21 men's singles title. Later that year, he won gold medals in both the boys' singles and team events at the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in South Africa. This was a huge win, as he became the youngest winner of the World Junior Championships at 13 years old. By December 2016, he was ranked No. 10 in the world for Under-21 players.
Big Wins in 2018
In June 2018, Tomokazu surprised everyone by winning the ITTF World Tour Japan Open. He was almost 15 years old when he beat Olympic champions Ma Long and Zhang Jike to win the title.
Later in 2018, Tomokazu won the 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in South Korea. He beat Lin Gaoyuan 4-1 in the final, becoming the youngest person ever to win this event. Because of his amazing playing in 2018, he reached his highest world ranking of No. 3!
Olympic Journey in 2021
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Tomokazu faced a tough challenge. He was upset by Darko Jorgic in the men's singles event. In the team event, he played doubles and helped Japan win against Sweden. In the semi-finals, he won both his matches against Germany, but Japan still lost the overall match.
Tomokazu's Records
- June 2016: Youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour Under-21 men's singles title (12 years, 355 days old).
- December 2016: Youngest ever winner of the boys' singles title at the World Junior Championships (13 years, 163 days old).
- August 2017: Youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour men's singles title (14 years, 61 days old).
- January 2018: Youngest ever winner of the men's singles title at the Japanese National Championships (14 years, 207 days old).
- December 2018: Youngest ever winner of an ITTF World Tour Grand Finals men's singles title (15 years, 172 days old).
Awards and Achievements
- ITTF Star Awards: Breakthrough Star (2017)
Images for kids
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Harimoto at the 2018 Youth Olympics Final
See also
In Spanish: Tomokazu Harimoto para niños
