The problem with Tomokazu Harimoto is he can sometimes be too passive with his game. He has very powerful forehands and backhands but then if often chooses to block passively. Not like he was forced to, but voluntarily does so, as his main strategy. While it make work against certain players whose techniques are not world class and tend to make more errors as the rally prolongs, it definitely doesn't work against players who are fast, aggressive and see that block from him as an attacking opportunity.
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAshback when he had his Dream run at Japan Open 2018, it was coach Kurashima in his corner. He is managing the Kinoshita Meister Tokyo team in the Japanese league now, and has nothing to do with national team coaching anymore… 🤷🏻
You mentioned Miwa aswell. My colleague is a former Chinese National Team member, and is good friends with Harimoto’s parents. She told me, that when Miwa was 9 years old, their father said “she is going to become better than her older brother”… We’ll see how that will turn out eventually… 🤷🏻
Quite unfair to compare them because it seems like in mens tabletennis there is more competition. Womens tabletennis except for china japan and southkorea is not that strong.
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh Is that even possible regarding women's TT? I can't think of any nation dominating a single sport for so long that reaches the level of China in women's table tennis, who has essentially had all major world competition (world championship, world cup, olympics) on lock for almost 50 years now, with no sign of slowing down. China's men's TT team or even the US men's basketball has not has such sustained success, and that might be the closest comparison. It seems every decade or so, the women's national team might lose a gold medal in a fluke fashion, but that's about it.
@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh why has his performance gotten down so low? What are your thoughts on this? I have noticed that he just isn't as consistently aggressive as before and his mobility as well as attack speed has slowed down. What are your thoughts on this
When he first appeared a Chinese coach I knew said his technique was not developed enough and the very top players would be able to overpower his close to the table style.
Last year I watched Wtt Star contender Goa live and saw how the players warmed up and prepared before matches. I noticed that Harimoto practiced very physically demanding drills for a very long time compared to all other players. That might also be something he needs to think about.
A psychological explanation on the part of his opponents could be: Subconsciously, you don't take a 15 year old 100% seriously. An 18, 19, 20 year old, especially with his successes, you do.
Really interesting topic, it’s easy to overlook him sometimes when you guys like Felix and Lin coming through more recently and perhaps that insane spell he had where he was beating Chinese players makes his current form less impressive but he’s no slouch at all and has been maintaining a good level I think his time will come soon and he’ll grow into a roll where he’s in the top 5. Easy to forget how young he still is
I like it when he is calm - because he looses. Normally, I am not that negative, but yelling at every single poing he scores is ridiculous. I am playing table tennis myself - just to be clear. Somewhat more respect to an opponent he should have.
Harimoto at 10th place is about right. He has reached his limit. There are so many short coming in his game and I don't see that is going to change in the future. However, his sister has a better future.
@@rodrigoangelo488 I like that she has the power so there is potential there but still lack the consistency speed when playing with Chinese players. They are just faster and very consistent. I hope she has a brighter future than her brother.
I've read a few comments and I agree with a few points but I also want to add in another point of discussion. When we first saw him back in the Polish Open (I believe 2015), he beat a european player at a very young age. In which the next game, he was matched against ma long. Obviously outclassed, he lost but somewhat celebrated each point he could get even if they were mercy ones. An easy loss but I think this marked him on the Chinese teams radar. After he grew quite a bit, he gained a lot of international exposure, beating many top contenders as you said. A style centred around counterloops and blocking, with service receive game definitely one for letting the opp attack first and him getting a stronger counter back was effective and proved to win him games against many top players as you suggested. Esp noticeable in his fh block being flatter and his bh the spinnier one, it would definitely be a hard game against him. But this was in 2016 - 2018 with experimental plastic balls since the change from celluloid, meaning less spin is able to be put on the ball or flat hitting it (as we have seen on the impact of choppers and those using other types of rubber offensively like wang zengyi). It also affected those who liked blocking as part of their game namely two other japanese players koki niwa and kenta matsudaira. I think with these changes, it made it harder for those who liked passive and "wait and attack" styles to survive in the top competitive scene, barring the game to highly offensive players who like attack on attack. The extra point I want to add is what i briefly said; that he was marked rly early on due to early exposure to the competitive scene. I think this has let many people esp the chinese to rly study and analyse his game, making his weaknesses known to both them and other rivals. This is similar to miu hirano who in 2016 - 2018 made a huge splash (who i also would like you to do a video on pls hehe :D) where after beating top chinese players, her game was deeply studied and it lost her her top 10 ranking and such. And similarly to harimoto, i think the early exposure is a double edged sword, allowing him to test himself in the deep competitive waters early on but also leaving his game an open book to study. With the changes in the game plus this, I think it's easy to see why he isn't able to perform as well as his ranking would suggest such as his team losing to iran and possibly a mental fatigue too since it is a recurring thing to occur to tt players who are expected to compete at a high level from such a young age. Despite that, I do hope that he gets better and shows us the same harimoto that we saw a long time ago so that I can hear more chos and choles from a separate video lol
Some good points. One thing is for sure, the Chinese team will study a foreign player in depth so there is absolutely no mystery to them. Miu Hirano and Mima Ito are two I am considering for a future video.
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh The chinese definitely have people for that, thats for sure. Btw im the biggest miu hirano fan girl so if you need some info, feel free if you need advice/help on her and stuff. Id be happy to help :D
In my opinion, he peaked too early, and all the teams players etc have studied him very well. And his game and strong attacking players(biggest example wcq) is way too passive, he has good forehand and exceptional backhand, but he plays very passively, well he is just 20 he has a lot of time, iimo he shd switch his game up a lil bit, becoz he has it in himself. Excellent vid btw, keep it up.
Excelent video!! Can you talk about Alexis Lebrun? I think he is an amazing player and i do think he has the potential to be top 5 and even top 1, he has an amazing potential. Id love to listen your opinion.
Did you mean felix? Because alexis is not even gonna get top 10, his development is like truls moregard's going into the minus, and he's definitely not gonna be nr.1. I also don't see why he supposedly has thaat much potential. His forehand is nothing special, his backhand is nothing special, and his serves are good, but well, they are just serves. And he's also already 21. Meaning 5 years at max for development, and in that time range, it's way slower than before. He'd need to be 5 years younger (like his brother) to be able to become wr nr.1 with his current skills.
he switched his grip in the last few years bc he lacked power in his fh side. Hindered him for close to 2 years and his fh power is still the same. Issue was always his poor footwork which he can't fix anymore. Poor footwork = no power in extended rallies
He has a long way to go as china has a lot of talents like lin shidong,Wang chuqin,fan zendong who are more dominant and consistent performers than him.
the problem is simply physical he doesn't have the body he used to have anymore wich was perfect for his style and the mindset when he was [the guy[ it was like f it idc if i lose to xu xin or ma long so he went all out and just see what happens but the positons have changed in a negative way simple
People had a lot of pressure whan facing a 15yo kid. "I'm a seasoned pro for the past 10 years.....I can't lose to a junior". Harimoto in his early pro career tried to push oppenents to do th fault more than on winner the point. The the prychological pressure, it worked well. Then once Harimoto himself became a seasonsed pro, that psychological advantage was no more. He canged his game trying to win points more than hoping for an error of the opponent. He is still elite player, TOP10, but I don't see him overperforming above his ranking to win a big tittle in the future.
I think that is the case. His frame change alot these two, three year. He need to adapt. When he 15 he is small, thin, fast footwork for many years I guess. Now he is frame like Franzisca. He still beat Wang Chu Quin, Fran zhengdong last year with this frame. I guess he need more time to be consistant with this body.
@@UNThanh Like Franziska ? come on dude... be serious, Fraziska could be a handball defender, goalie or centre-half, he's got way more muscles and he's way taller 190cm, Tomo is like Timo Boll at best, he's even smaller than Timo : 176cm vs 181cm. 176cm is still small compared to western standards.
Fan Zhendong is the living proof that: no. Felix Lebrun has grown up since 2021, he took 10 cm at least, if not much, but no problem whatsoever. The pandemic has made terrible things to some players with mental weakness, Tomo was a pre-pandemic prodigy, like Lin Yun-Ju, Felix is a post-pandemic one. It's been really tough for Timo for example, even if he was happy to spend more time with his family.
@@joachimmahoudeaux8619 I don't mention about the hight exactly, you can see the similarity of Harimoto and Franziska when you look them play. And compare to the 14-15 years old Harimoto, they are not so different, they both much bigger 😂. Harimoto body is so much different, year after years in these 2-3 years. I think he is just become a very different player physically now compare to the past.
The screamer is getting on my nerves...also he was pushed to hard on a young age and didn't make as much progress as Chinese players who start tournaments later and have more time to develop...Japan is famous for running young talents into the ground...Miha will be wasted in no time
I think he hasn't adjusted to all the changes in the last years. Like he tries to block too much, but in 2018 and before, the ball was slower and it was easier to blach also with forehand. Now also players like Lin Shidong, Felix Lebrun, Lin Yun Ju and Wang Chuqin whenever they have the opportunity to make a counterloop they will do it, in 2018 it was easier to outblock someone because the ball was slower nowdays when someone counterloops you won't be able to block it back when your'e not perfecly in position. He didn't adjust his game to the new one where you spin every ball back if tis possible. He does that with his backhand very often (not all the time) but raerly with his forehand. Nowdays it's impossible to outblock someone if you are not Ma Long at World Cup.
Love hearing from all the expert 1000's in the comment section 😂 The clear answer is that the Chinese National Team has always ruined the game for any athlete that stands a chance at beating them. The first to do this was Ai Fukuhara.. the CNT then hired multiple coaches who's only job was to tear apart her game and teach the entire team specifically how to beat her. In an interview she quotes "I felt my heart was ripped out of my chest". After decades of dedication, she just didn't have the resources to counter CNT's manipulation of the game. It's sadly the same story for all of the Non-Chinese Greats.. Timo Boll, The Lebrun Brothers, Mizutani, etc. Many have even gone as far as to say that it's a waste of time and money to deal with traveling internationally just to play China.. you pretty much have a one month or so window to make the top, then China's coaches ruin it. Which is why a lot of these players are way more active in leagues. (Compare the energy between a Bundesliga Match and the last World Championships.. no one cares about WTT anymore except brainwashed Chinese fangirls lol) I do believe China produces some of the best, most talented, and hardest working athletes in the world. But frankly, the stringency of the organization is ruining the sport and any chance for it to have a true international appeal.
I love hearing everyone's thoughts. That's half of the enjoyment of watching sports. Football is fueled by armchair experts 😄 Team China is so thorough in everything they do! It's so impressive, and somewhat scary at times
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh fair point, no need for me to gatekeep. I do get tired of people ignoring and being overly critical of every non Chinese athlete without considering the bigger picture though
everyone knows Chinese are really serious about table tennis, and that stresses them too. with all that resources and training, loosing to any foreign players internationally as CNT is like moral castration. it's in every sports, unless you're playing basketball and the Americans are too far ahead they don't need to strategize against any country.
Harimoto is psychologically weak. When things don't go his way, his shoulders drop and he becomes quiet. He overuses shouting to overcomes stress. What I have observed is that most top table tennis players have nerves of steel. That why it took Ma Long a lot of hard work and a bit of luck to be the top because that is exactly what he lacked. Having nerves of steel often lead these players to become very addicted to the adrenaline rush, something we common folks try to avoid as much as possible. As a consequence, they often also become addicted to gamble. Liu Guo Liang, Kong LingHui and Zhang JiKe all have this gambling problems but they usually get away with it because of their national hero status.
The problem is technical. He stays too close to the table, but he's too big now. (and possibly he uses a too stiff blade). As he is too close to the table, powerloopers blast through him. It's very clear if you watch how Togami beats him. Togami makes one step back and powerloops everything, and he is stuck blocking, but it's a losing game. And when he tries to do forehand counterloop, he doesn't have enough arc, probably because of the stiff blade and nontacky rubber combo. He needs to rebuild his game around Viscaria and/or tacky rubber, and accept a temporary drop in ranking.
The problem with Tomokazu Harimoto is he can sometimes be too passive with his game. He has very powerful forehands and backhands but then if often chooses to block passively. Not like he was forced to, but voluntarily does so, as his main strategy. While it make work against certain players whose techniques are not world class and tend to make more errors as the rally prolongs, it definitely doesn't work against players who are fast, aggressive and see that block from him as an attacking opportunity.
Do you know who his coaches are these days? I know his parents were when he was younger, perhaps he needs an outsider to step in
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAshback when he had his Dream run at Japan Open 2018, it was coach Kurashima in his corner.
He is managing the Kinoshita Meister Tokyo team in the Japanese league now, and has nothing to do with national team coaching anymore… 🤷🏻
Powerful Forehand? Dont think so.
1. Other players improved
2. His weaknesses were analyzed
IMHO, Number 2 is the strong candidate for not ascending in the rankings
@@harpiaamazon Actually 1 and 2 are kind of the same. When you analyze your opponent and you understand how to beat him, you become better.
Bro hit puberty and realized there are more to this world than just table tennis
😭
He still seems pretty motivated but yeah, maybe he has other interests now. Professional sport is pretty brutal
😂
He lost again in Rio to German player Steffen Mengel in Rio. Very sad kid.
You mentioned Miwa aswell.
My colleague is a former Chinese National Team member, and is good friends with Harimoto’s parents.
She told me, that when Miwa was 9 years old, their father said “she is going to become better than her older brother”…
We’ll see how that will turn out eventually… 🤷🏻
Quite unfair to compare them because it seems like in mens tabletennis there is more competition. Womens tabletennis except for china japan and southkorea is not that strong.
Anyone to challenge team China's dominance is desperately needed in the women's game
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh Is that even possible regarding women's TT? I can't think of any nation dominating a single sport for so long that reaches the level of China in women's table tennis, who has essentially had all major world competition (world championship, world cup, olympics) on lock for almost 50 years now, with no sign of slowing down. China's men's TT team or even the US men's basketball has not has such sustained success, and that might be the closest comparison. It seems every decade or so, the women's national team might lose a gold medal in a fluke fashion, but that's about it.
@@tren133 it's a great question. It is hard to see beyond continued domination by China in the women's game
@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh
why has his performance gotten down so low? What are your thoughts on this? I have noticed that he just isn't as consistently aggressive as before and his mobility as well as attack speed has slowed down. What are your thoughts on this
When he first appeared a Chinese coach I knew said his technique was not developed enough and the very top players would be able to overpower his close to the table style.
Last year I watched Wtt Star contender Goa live and saw how the players warmed up and prepared before matches. I noticed that Harimoto practiced very physically demanding drills for a very long time compared to all other players. That might also be something he needs to think about.
He could just be burnt out. He's played a lot of table tennis for someone so young!
A psychological explanation on the part of his opponents could be: Subconsciously, you don't take a 15 year old 100% seriously. An 18, 19, 20 year old, especially with his successes, you do.
Or they may get nervous playing a 15 year old. No one likes to lose to a child. I know I don't, but it happens too often for me
No explanation. Tomokazu had his best moment years ago.
Anyone who doesnt take seriously cant be National team.
If Harimoto stoped yelling and used that energy for playing he would be the number 1.
me if i didn’t understand a single thing about table tennis
Really interesting topic, it’s easy to overlook him sometimes when you guys like Felix and Lin coming through more recently and perhaps that insane spell he had where he was beating Chinese players makes his current form less impressive but he’s no slouch at all and has been maintaining a good level I think his time will come soon and he’ll grow into a roll where he’s in the top 5. Easy to forget how young he still is
Would love to see it! Maybe the focus on the new players coming through will take the pressure off TH
I like it when he is calm - because he looses. Normally, I am not that negative, but yelling at every single poing he scores is ridiculous. I am playing table tennis myself - just to be clear. Somewhat more respect to an opponent he should have.
It must be tiring celebrating every point you win!
He still young but i think his physique makes him slow not like his teenage years also its mental needs to be stronger 💪🏼
Harimoto at 10th place is about right. He has reached his limit. There are so many short coming in his game and I don't see that is going to change in the future. However, his sister has a better future.
She is going to be like his brother. Amazing by her 15s years old, but get weak around her 20s
@@rodrigoangelo488 I like that she has the power so there is potential there but still lack the consistency speed when playing with Chinese players. They are just faster and very consistent. I hope she has a brighter future than her brother.
@@thecsucihai I hope so
Good video
I've read a few comments and I agree with a few points but I also want to add in another point of discussion.
When we first saw him back in the Polish Open (I believe 2015), he beat a european player at a very young age. In which the next game, he was matched against ma long. Obviously outclassed, he lost but somewhat celebrated each point he could get even if they were mercy ones. An easy loss but I think this marked him on the Chinese teams radar.
After he grew quite a bit, he gained a lot of international exposure, beating many top contenders as you said. A style centred around counterloops and blocking, with service receive game definitely one for letting the opp attack first and him getting a stronger counter back was effective and proved to win him games against many top players as you suggested. Esp noticeable in his fh block being flatter and his bh the spinnier one, it would definitely be a hard game against him. But this was in 2016 - 2018 with experimental plastic balls since the change from celluloid, meaning less spin is able to be put on the ball or flat hitting it (as we have seen on the impact of choppers and those using other types of rubber offensively like wang zengyi). It also affected those who liked blocking as part of their game namely two other japanese players koki niwa and kenta matsudaira. I think with these changes, it made it harder for those who liked passive and "wait and attack" styles to survive in the top competitive scene, barring the game to highly offensive players who like attack on attack.
The extra point I want to add is what i briefly said; that he was marked rly early on due to early exposure to the competitive scene. I think this has let many people esp the chinese to rly study and analyse his game, making his weaknesses known to both them and other rivals. This is similar to miu hirano who in 2016 - 2018 made a huge splash (who i also would like you to do a video on pls hehe :D) where after beating top chinese players, her game was deeply studied and it lost her her top 10 ranking and such. And similarly to harimoto, i think the early exposure is a double edged sword, allowing him to test himself in the deep competitive waters early on but also leaving his game an open book to study.
With the changes in the game plus this, I think it's easy to see why he isn't able to perform as well as his ranking would suggest such as his team losing to iran and possibly a mental fatigue too since it is a recurring thing to occur to tt players who are expected to compete at a high level from such a young age. Despite that, I do hope that he gets better and shows us the same harimoto that we saw a long time ago so that I can hear more chos and choles from a separate video lol
Some good points. One thing is for sure, the Chinese team will study a foreign player in depth so there is absolutely no mystery to them.
Miu Hirano and Mima Ito are two I am considering for a future video.
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh The chinese definitely have people for that, thats for sure. Btw im the biggest miu hirano fan girl so if you need some info, feel free if you need advice/help on her and stuff. Id be happy to help :D
@AlexArconiteGames are u a girl who watches TT? that's rare. nice 👍
@@faizanrizwan786 yeah it is rare lol
He s not losing to the chinese only.
In my opinion, he peaked too early, and all the teams players etc have studied him very well. And his game and strong attacking players(biggest example wcq) is way too passive, he has good forehand and exceptional backhand, but he plays very passively, well he is just 20 he has a lot of time, iimo he shd switch his game up a lil bit, becoz he has it in himself.
Excellent vid btw, keep it up.
He seems to have the raw ingredients, maybe just needs some guidance.
And thanks!
Excelent video!! Can you talk about Alexis Lebrun? I think he is an amazing player and i do think he has the potential to be top 5 and even top 1, he has an amazing potential. Id love to listen your opinion.
Thank you! Yes, definitely. I love watching the Le Bruns play and Alexis often gets overlooked
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh Nice!
Did you mean felix? Because alexis is not even gonna get top 10, his development is like truls moregard's going into the minus, and he's definitely not gonna be nr.1. I also don't see why he supposedly has thaat much potential. His forehand is nothing special, his backhand is nothing special, and his serves are good, but well, they are just serves. And he's also already 21. Meaning 5 years at max for development, and in that time range, it's way slower than before. He'd need to be 5 years younger (like his brother) to be able to become wr nr.1 with his current skills.
Alexis may not become a future no.1 but he is interesting to watch
maybe top lollipop server
he switched his grip in the last few years bc he lacked power in his fh side. Hindered him for close to 2 years and his fh power is still the same. Issue was always his poor footwork which he can't fix anymore. Poor footwork = no power in extended rallies
Poor footwork is yours.
He has a long way to go as china has a lot of talents like lin shidong,Wang chuqin,fan zendong who are more dominant and consistent performers than him.
So true
I love harimoto ❤❤❤❤
the problem is simply physical he doesn't have the body he used to have anymore wich was perfect for his style and the mindset when he was [the guy[ it was like f it idc if i lose to xu xin or ma long so he went all out and just see what happens but the positons have changed in a negative way simple
He was certainly fearless when he 15!
People had a lot of pressure whan facing a 15yo kid. "I'm a seasoned pro for the past 10 years.....I can't lose to a junior".
Harimoto in his early pro career tried to push oppenents to do th fault more than on winner the point. The the prychological pressure, it worked well.
Then once Harimoto himself became a seasonsed pro, that psychological advantage was no more. He canged his game trying to win points more than hoping for an error of the opponent.
He is still elite player, TOP10, but I don't see him overperforming above his ranking to win a big tittle in the future.
A fair assessment. As you say, still an elite player but maybe he has reached a ceiling
Adulthood physique ends potentials of teenage prodigy
It could be the case. He has time to adjust his game to his adult body though
I think that is the case. His frame change alot these two, three year. He need to adapt. When he 15 he is small, thin, fast footwork for many years I guess. Now he is frame like Franzisca. He still beat Wang Chu Quin, Fran zhengdong last year with this frame. I guess he need more time to be consistant with this body.
@@UNThanh Like Franziska ? come on dude... be serious, Fraziska could be a handball defender, goalie or centre-half, he's got way more muscles and he's way taller 190cm, Tomo is like Timo Boll at best, he's even smaller than Timo : 176cm vs 181cm. 176cm is still small compared to western standards.
Fan Zhendong is the living proof that: no. Felix Lebrun has grown up since 2021, he took 10 cm at least, if not much, but no problem whatsoever. The pandemic has made terrible things to some players with mental weakness, Tomo was a pre-pandemic prodigy, like Lin Yun-Ju, Felix is a post-pandemic one. It's been really tough for Timo for example, even if he was happy to spend more time with his family.
@@joachimmahoudeaux8619 I don't mention about the hight exactly, you can see the similarity of Harimoto and Franziska when you look them play. And compare to the 14-15 years old Harimoto, they are not so different, they both much bigger 😂. Harimoto body is so much different, year after years in these 2-3 years. I think he is just become a very different player physically now compare to the past.
He should play one step away from the table and more focus on forehand
He should have worked on his forehand technique when he was 14 rather than competing internationally.
Yeah, I wonder whether he missed out on that youth development pathway that most other players go through.
Should have been able to do both simultaneously...
Japan must be proud of this 2 Chinese players
They were both born in Japan and are not products of team China
What 2? Tomokazu and Harimoto?
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh They are chinese
@@jingli8635 that's not what he said, sure their origins are chinese, but they're ALSO born and raised in Japan
The screamer is getting on my nerves...also he was pushed to hard on a young age and didn't make as much progress as Chinese players who start tournaments later and have more time to develop...Japan is famous for running young talents into the ground...Miha will be wasted in no time
I'd like to see him take some time out from the tour and get a good team around him
Isn't he in university right now? Can't focus full time anymore
It appears he is!
I think he hasn't adjusted to all the changes in the last years. Like he tries to block too much, but in 2018 and before, the ball was slower and it was easier to blach also with forehand. Now also players like Lin Shidong, Felix Lebrun, Lin Yun Ju and Wang Chuqin whenever they have the opportunity to make a counterloop they will do it, in 2018 it was easier to outblock someone because the ball was slower nowdays when someone counterloops you won't be able to block it back when your'e not perfecly in position. He didn't adjust his game to the new one where you spin every ball back if tis possible. He does that with his backhand very often (not all the time) but raerly with his forehand. Nowdays it's impossible to outblock someone if you are not Ma Long at World Cup.
Interesting stuff. I'll look out for it next time I watch him play. I hope he's open to learning
Actually Lin shidong doesn't do well against Harimoto
@@bgmaster8557 They just have played twice and lin lost both in the 5th so very close games.
Why do you think the ball is slower in 2018? The balls changed to plastic in 2014 and plastic is slower than celluloid.
@@lucabay8223 before that in the youth Asian games. Harimoto also got Lin 4:0. Lin struggles against his style, cuz he can't git past the backhand
Why?
Love hearing from all the expert 1000's in the comment section 😂
The clear answer is that the Chinese National Team has always ruined the game for any athlete that stands a chance at beating them.
The first to do this was Ai Fukuhara.. the CNT then hired multiple coaches who's only job was to tear apart her game and teach the entire team specifically how to beat her. In an interview she quotes "I felt my heart was ripped out of my chest". After decades of dedication, she just didn't have the resources to counter CNT's manipulation of the game.
It's sadly the same story for all of the Non-Chinese Greats.. Timo Boll, The Lebrun Brothers, Mizutani, etc. Many have even gone as far as to say that it's a waste of time and money to deal with traveling internationally just to play China.. you pretty much have a one month or so window to make the top, then China's coaches ruin it. Which is why a lot of these players are way more active in leagues. (Compare the energy between a Bundesliga Match and the last World Championships.. no one cares about WTT anymore except brainwashed Chinese fangirls lol)
I do believe China produces some of the best, most talented, and hardest working athletes in the world. But frankly, the stringency of the organization is ruining the sport and any chance for it to have a true international appeal.
I love hearing everyone's thoughts. That's half of the enjoyment of watching sports. Football is fueled by armchair experts 😄
Team China is so thorough in everything they do! It's so impressive, and somewhat scary at times
@@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh fair point, no need for me to gatekeep. I do get tired of people ignoring and being overly critical of every non Chinese athlete without considering the bigger picture though
@TableTennisOpinionswithAsh I will take it over having to watch football any day though!! 😅
everyone knows Chinese are really serious about table tennis, and that stresses them too. with all that resources and training, loosing to any foreign players internationally as CNT is like moral castration. it's in every sports, unless you're playing basketball and the Americans are too far ahead they don't need to strategize against any country.
Hugo Calderano will someday be #1...
Harimoto is psychologically weak. When things don't go his way, his shoulders drop and he becomes quiet. He overuses shouting to overcomes stress. What I have observed is that most top table tennis players have nerves of steel. That why it took Ma Long a lot of hard work and a bit of luck to be the top because that is exactly what he lacked. Having nerves of steel often lead these players to become very addicted to the adrenaline rush, something we common folks try to avoid as much as possible. As a consequence, they often also become addicted to gamble. Liu Guo Liang, Kong LingHui and Zhang JiKe all have this gambling problems but they usually get away with it because of their national hero status.
Some good thoughts. "Addicted to the adrenaline rush". I like this
He became too tall
Hopefully his game can grow
The problem is technical. He stays too close to the table, but he's too big now. (and possibly he uses a too stiff blade). As he is too close to the table, powerloopers blast through him. It's very clear if you watch how Togami beats him. Togami makes one step back and powerloops everything, and he is stuck blocking, but it's a losing game. And when he tries to do forehand counterloop, he doesn't have enough arc, probably because of the stiff blade and nontacky rubber combo. He needs to rebuild his game around Viscaria and/or tacky rubber, and accept a temporary drop in ranking.
That's interesting. He has grown a lot since he was 14 and maybe he hasn't adapted his game for this. I hope he has a good coaching team around him
His blade is Harimoto ALC, which is better for close to table than Viscaria.
@@Waingro808 exactly. it's better for a losing game...
His style is just too basic