Tomokazu Harimoto PHOTO: Itaru Chiba
ITTF Men’s and Women’s World Cup <15-21 aprile/Macao> On the 19th, Tomokazu Harimoto (20 = Tomokazu Kikaku / 9th place in the world ranking) was counted against the Chinese Lin Gaoyuan (29 = 8th place in the world ranking) in the men’s singles semi-finals. They lost in straight sets 0-4 and not they managed to reach the final.
Tomokazu Harimoto defeated Kjellberg (26, Sweden, 13th place) in yesterday’s quarterfinals, winning his third consecutive World Cup medal and becoming the first brother to win a medal in history.
In the semi-finals that followed he faced left-handed Lin Gaoyuan (29, China, 8th place), who advanced by beating world champion Fan Zhendong (27, China, 2nd place). With 3 wins and 3 losses in the past, they are a good opponent among the main Chinese players.
In the first game, Harimoto was at a disadvantage as his opponent attacked with a foredrive. Although they closed the gap in the closing stages with daring counterattacks, they lost the rally and the match at 9-11.
The second game was also at Takato Hayashi’s pace. Even Harimoto, who boasts one of the best blocking skills in the world, was unable to resist Hayashi’s powerful two-handed strike, and on the other hand, when he tried to attack, Hayashi’s solid block blocked him and it made movement difficult. score.
Harimoto didn’t want the game count to be 0-3, so he timed out at 5-6 in the third game. Next, there was a play where he went for a strong return on the third pitch, but he couldn’t change the flow and ended up losing three games in a row.
In the fourth game, Harimoto tried to attack aggressively, but due to his strength he made mistakes in his attack and lost by a large margin of 1-11. They did not advance to the final for the first time since the 2019 tournament.
Harimoto, who lost in the semifinals, won the bronze medal after the previous tournament in 2020. She and her younger sister, Miwa, finished the tournament with a bronze medal, the first time in the tournament’s history that they won the bronze medal.
Tomokazu Harimoto 0-4 Takato Hayashi (China)
9-11/6-11/6-11/1-11
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