Age is just a number.
Prodigy, exceptional talent, child genius are all words used to describe 13-year-old Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto. The 13-year-old paddler who has captured plenty of eyeballs with his stunning performances in the last two years took his biggest steps in the senior level when he made it to the final of the Indian open.
Born on June 27th 2003, the young Japanese sensation has been creating waves in the table tennis world with his astonishing performances. Playing table tennis since he has been able to walk, a lot of Harimoto’s success can be credited to his parents, Yu and Ling. Both Yu and Ling were former Chinese national level players and it is easy to see where Harimoto gets his prodigious talent, discipline, determination, dedication and focus from.
Passion and talent – The perfect recipe for any successful sportsman
Passion is the genesis of genius – Tony Robbins
Every time Harimoto steps onto the table, you can hear the shouts of ‘chole’ reverberating around the arena. Vocal after every successful point and not afraid of pumping himself up even against opponents much senior and higher ranked to him, Harimoto’s confidence, ability and most importantly passion for the game is visible every single time he plays.
In a revealing interview with famous table tennis equipment manufacturers Butterfly, Harimoto said:
“The desire to win grabs me not only when I play against peers, but even in matches against much older players.”
It is this unquenchable thirst to win is what sets Harimoto apart from his peers. Crowned world junior champion just 10 weeks ago in Cape Town (incidentally, the youngest ever), the young genius is already somewhat of a hero in Japan.
Already ranked as high as 69 in the world, the young paddler is not satisfied with his long list of accomplishments. He has one clear goal and that is to win the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2020.
“My ultimate dream is to be 2020 Olympic champion in Tokyo.”
Yu and Ling – The unsung heroes in Harimoto’s meteoric rise
At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child's success is the positive involvement of parents. – Jane Dee Hull
Tomokazu’s parents Yu and Ling have been constant in their support and encouragement for Harimoto. Both Chinese nationals, Yu, his father, was a Chinese youth national player, while his mother Ling represented the table tennis powerhouse internationally even competing as part of the Chinese national team in the 1995 World Championships.
His mother Ling gave an interesting insight into the young champion’s mentality:
“Tomokazu loves tournaments – and hates losing. If there is something that distinguishes Tomokazu, it is that he keeps the highest level of concentration in any game against any opponent until the last ball. This is probably one of the main reasons that he can survive in a long tournament using his complete technical skills. My wish for the future is that he stays persistent and determined whilst practising the basics to develop his technique.”
His father Yu, meanwhile, has been his coach right throughout his fledgling career. Often seen giving out instructions between every point during the match (new ITTF rules have made in-game coaching legal), Yu’s calm and composed demeanour often keeps the fiery youngster grounded and in the right frame of mind during crucial situations.
Having played at the top level, both Yu and Ling are more than capable of guiding and taking Harimoto’s already splendid career to greater heights.
Biggest Strengths
The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence – Confucius
When asked in an interview as to what his biggest strength is, the impressive youngster immediately answered: “Always wanting and to win. No matter against whom.” While such talk is impressive and shows his immense mental maturity, it is no use having a big talk if you do not have the game to back it up.
Harimoto in a small period of time has already proven his ability to tango with the big boys. The youngest ever U-21 champion, Harimoto has some pretty impressive scalps in the senior level as well, The Japanese youngster has already beaten seasoned professionals like Hugo Calderano, Jens Lundquist and Anton Kallberg.
Playing with the shakehand grip, Harimoto is known for his impressive backhand receives and his ability to play high paced counter attacking and topspin rallies. Blessed with an excellent touch, the young sensation from Japan has shown that he is more than capable of dealing with the pace of play at the highest level.
With his reach only expected to increase in the coming years, Harimoto’s all round game is more than capable of giving the Chinese players a run for thier money in the near future. Also, he is never afraid to innovate and he gave a very interesting insight about his grip and technique to butterflyonline recently:
“Outside of ball contacts and the milliseconds before, I relax the grip on my racket; otherwise my wrist and forearm will only become tense, this will have a negative effect on the game.
I hold the racket firmly just before impact so I can play powerfully. My grip itself always remains the same. I do not change even when changing between the forehand and backhand game. Only during topspin play I move strongly with the wrist.”
With the scalps of Asuka Sakai, Robert Gardos and Achanta Sharath Kamal in the 2017 Indian Open, Tomokazo Harimoto is definitely poised to break into the top 50 and even possibly top 30 by the end of the year.
Highlights of his career so far
* Youngest ever World Junior Champion at age 13
* Senior World Ranking of 64 at age 13
* Beaten number of higher ranked players in the last few months such as Asuka Sakai, Robert Gardos, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Hugo Calderano
* U-21 World Ranking of 5
* Youngest U-21 ITTF World Tour Champion at age 12
* Youngest ever World Tour finalist at the age of 13 years and 237 days (Indian Open 2017)
* Youngest ever player to make the ITTF tour main draw (senior level) at the age of 12 (Polish Open 2015)
* Finished 4th in Japanese U-8 national championships aged 3 years
* Youngest ever winner of Japanese U-8 national championship aged 4 years
Tomakazu Harimoto – What does the future hold?
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard enough – Kevin Durant
Tomakazu Harimoto is undoubtedly a child prodigy and genius, but his coach and father Yu will be wary of the pitfalls awaiting the super talented youngster. There have been a number of youngsters who have burst onto the scene and slowly faded away as they have grown older.
A case in point is China’s precociously talented youngster Yu Ziyang. The youngster who still holds the record for being the youngest person ever to win an ITTF World Tour title (16 years and 30 days) has slowly slipped away from even the Chinese national team due to reports of unsportsmanlike behaviour and indiscipline.
In whatever little we have seen of Harimoto, his love, zeal and passion for the game is more than evident. If the Japanese wonderkid keeps working hard and lives upto his potential, he might well become the greatest table tennis player of all time.
