HARIMOTO Tomokazu

Grip
Shakehand (tleague.jp, 24 Nov 2019)

Style of play
Attack (butterfly.co.jp, 01 Oct 2016)

General
2011 EARTHQUAKE DEDICATION
His family's house was destroyed by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the Pacific coast of Japan's Tohoku region, which happened when he lived in Sendai, Japan, and was in primary school. He dedicated his men's singles title at the 2021 Star Contender event in Doha, Qatar, to the victims of the earthquake, as the competition took place 10 years after the disaster. "I have never forgotten 11 March for 10 years. Fear, surprise, sadness. The lost lives will not return. However, what I can do now is to keep playing hard in order to give hope to local people in Tohoku and Miyagi. I really wanted to win this tournament, which was held from 11 March 2021, marking the 10th anniversary, and to deliver the victory to everyone. I hope that as many people as possible will be pleased." (hochi.news, 11 Mar 2021, 14 Mar 2021; chunichi.co.jp, 15 Mar 2021; Twitter profile, 14 Mar 2021, 11 Mar 2021)

HERITAGE
He was born to parents from Sichuan, People's Republic of China, who moved to Sendai, Japan, in 1998. Although his family once returned to the People's Republic of China when Sendai was affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the Tohoku region's Pacific coast, they moved back to Japan the following year. When he had to be granted Japanese nationality in order to compete at the All Japan Championships while in fourth grade of primary school, his father decided to become a Japanese citizen along with him and his sister Miwa. (fujitv.co.jp, 28 Feb 2016; kahoku.co.jp, 01 Jun 2019; olympicchannel.com, 24 Mar 2020)

At age 13 years and 343 days he became the youngest Japanese table tennis player to represent the nation at the world championships, following his fifth place finish in singles at the 2017 edition in Dusseldorf, Germany. At age 14 years and 61 days he became the youngest Japanese table tennis player to win an International Table Tennis Federation [ITTF] World Tour title, following his victory at the 2017 Czech Open in Olomouc, Czech Republic. (ittf.com, 07 Dec 2016, 27 Aug 2017; nikkansports.com, 07 Apr 2017; SportsDeskOnline, 30 Dec 2019)

At age 13 years and 159 days he became the youngest table tennis player to be crowned world junior champion, following his victory in the men's team event at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Cape Town, South Africa. Later in the same tournament he also became the youngest table tennis player to be crowned world junior champion in singles, at age 13 years and 163 days. (ittf.com, 07 Dec 2016, 27 Aug 2017; nikkansports.com, 07 Apr 2017; SportsDeskOnline, 27 Dec 2019)