Japanese table tennis teen Miwa Harimoto comes of age at Singapore Smash
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Japan's 17-year-old Miwa Harimoto chalks up wins in the women's singles last 16 and women's doubles semi-finals with compatriot Hina Hayata at the Singapore Smash.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
- Miwa Harimoto, 17 and world No. 6, advanced to WTT Singapore Smash singles quarter-finals and women's doubles final, establishing herself as Japan's top player.
- Overcoming past comparisons to her brother, Miwa targets becoming an Olympic champion and seeks her first Grand Smash singles semi-final berth.
- Described as "frighteningly strong" by Tomokazu, Miwa will bid to be the youngest Grand Smash winner and faces world No. 2 Wang Manyu.
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SINGAPORE – On Miwa Harimoto’s head sits a Kuromi hairclip, and in her arms an accessories bag and charms of the cartoon character.
Like Kuromi – the darker, rebellious counterpart to My Melody – the 17-year-old puts away her girly side and transforms into a defiant world-beater once she picks up a table tennis bat.
The world No. 6 player is still about 100 days shy of her 18th birthday on June 16 but already the teenager has firmly established herself as Japan’s top women’s singles player. She is also ready to step out of the shadow of her older brother, men’s singles world No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto, 22
On Feb 26, the wunderkind proved her credentials when she beat compatriot and world No. 12 Satsuki Odo 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-9) at the OCBC Arena to reach the singles quarter-finals of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash.
She then returned in the evening to team up with Hina Hayata to overcome China’s Kuai Man and Chen Yi 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7) in their women’s doubles semi-final.
On Feb 28, the Japanese duo will take on compatriot Miyu Nagasaki and South Korea’s Shin Yu-bin in the final, where Miwa is bidding to become the youngest Grand Smash winner since China’s Lin Shidong won the 2024 China Smash men’s singles title aged 19.
On the same day, she will also take on China’s world No. 2 Wang Manyu in a bid for her first singles semi-final berth at a Grand Smash event.
Along with her Asian Championships women’s team gold and silvers at the Olympics, world championships and Asian Games, her achievements would not have been possible had she given up the sport earlier after unfavourable comparisons with Tomokazu.
Miwa, who has a deadly backhand playing with a right-handed shakehand grip, told The Straits Times: “Since young, my older brother has had outstanding results and there were inevitable comparisons, so I didn’t like to play table tennis.
“I didn’t think I would have all these achievements. I dreamt of winning the national championships and qualifying for the Olympics, but I always felt I was not at a high-enough level. Even now, I still don’t think I am there yet and I cannot believe what I have achieved.
“My aim remains to win Olympic gold, so I know I will surely regret if I give up before I achieve that.”
Born in Sendai to China-born former professional players Zhang Yu and Zhang Ling, the siblings learnt the sport from age two. They burst onto the international scene in their pre-teens, recording upset wins against players from powerhouses China, and picked up medals at major competitions.
While they have different partners these days, they struck mixed doubles gold at the 2022 WTT Contender Tunis.
In an interview with table tennis equipment brand Butterfly, Tomokazu said: “She is frighteningly strong... not just great. I feel something similar to myself when I started to win internationally when I was in the first grade of junior high school. One of my goals is now to avoid being overtaken by my sister.”
Balancing schoolwork with six hours of training a day, a focused Miwa transformed back into a regular teenager as she told The Straits Times about her interests, particularly in K-pop.
She said: “When I had time off table tennis, I went to Twice and Blackpink concerts. How I wish I could stop playing and go to their concerts every day, even overseas ones.
“But I have to be realistic and focus on improving because only then can I fulfil my goal of becoming an Olympic champion. When it’s time to train, train hard. When it’s time to rest, rest properly. I like to eat and I eat well. This is my life now and I’m happy with it.”
To further stamp her mark on the world stage, Miwa will look to end her 0-10 hoodoo against Wang, the 2024 Singapore Smash singles champion who came back from losing the first game to down 13th-ranked South Korean Shin 3-1 (19-21, 11-7, 11-8, 13-11) in their last-16 tie.
The Japanese teenager can take inspiration from Germany’s world No. 15 Sabine Winter, who on Feb 26 stunned US Smash champion and fourth-ranked Zhu Yuling of Macau 3-1 (13-11, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8) to advance to the quarter-finals, where she will meet China’s seventh-ranked Wang Yidi.
The mixed doubles final on Feb 27 will also see 21-year-old Shin teaming up with Lim Jong-hoon as the top-ranked pair to face Brazil’s world No. 5 Hugo Calderano and Bruna Takahashi on Feb 27.
Day 5 of the US$1.55 million (S$1.96 million) tournament saw China’s defending men’s singles champion and world No. 3 Lin
China’s world No. 1 and 2024 champion Wang Chuqin survived a scare, recovering from losing the first game and 1-7 down in the third to edge out Denmark’s 17th-ranked Anders Lind 3-1 (5-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-8).
Meanwhile, the Singapore Smash Para Showcase also concluded on Feb 26, with Frenchman Clement Berthier taking the men’s singles Class 8 crown by beating Japan’s Hayuma Abe 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-4) in the final. The women’s singles Class 10 title went to Taiwanese Tian Shiau-wen, who overcame Sweden’s Anja Handen 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-4) in their final.
