Is over celebrating points a problem in table tennis? Or is it a display of passion that makes the sport more entertaining?
Tomokazu Harimoto champion of the under 21's at the Japan Open 2016!
Photo via ITTF
Tomokazu Harimoto, the 12 year old Japanese wonder kid, has shaken the world of table tennis yet again. This time by taking the under 21 Japan open singles title, beating his 18 year old compatriot Kohei Sambe in the final. Making him the youngest player ever to win an under 21 World Tour event by three years. This is on top of his shock wins in the last year against multiple highly ranked players such as Jens Lundqvist, Tan Ruiwu and Seiya Kishikawa has propelled him into the global table tennis spotlight.
Although this is an incredible and unheard of achievement for a player of his age, some of the table tennis community seems to be more focused on how he conducts himself on the court rather than his age defying feats. We are talking of course about his loud outbursts after a lot of points he wins. Of course he is still only a young child, and like most young children, he is very excitable. You would think as he matures and the pro tour environment becomes more normal to him he will change, and calm down a bit.
That being said, does he even need to calm down? What Harimoto is doing is displaying his unfiltered passion for the game, should he be pulled up on this or are emotional outbursts like this what the sport needs to make it more entertaining?
He is not the only professional player who has been criticised by table tennis fans for potentially over zealous celebrations. A wide variety of players for instance polarising figures such as Zhang Jike, Jean Michel Saive, Dimitrij Ovtcharov to name a few, are all known for their passionate displays on the court. They all have something in common though. Everyone wants to watch them play, they provoke discussion, they have an air of unpredictability about them so you are compelled to watch them because you never quite know what they are about to do next. Surely this is good thing and benefits the sport?
But is there a line that shouldn't be crossed? If so where do we draw this line? Should there be laws put in place to prevent over celebrating if it's deemed too disruptive?
We'd love to hear everyone's opinions on this subject and any examples you may have encountered where over celebrating has caused an issue.
Like and tweet our articles to the World. Lets spread the word of Table Tennis.
Written by: Thomas Jeffcott
TableTennisDaily
Tomokazu Harimoto champion of the under 21's at the Japan Open 2016!
Photo via ITTF
Tomokazu Harimoto, the 12 year old Japanese wonder kid, has shaken the world of table tennis yet again. This time by taking the under 21 Japan open singles title, beating his 18 year old compatriot Kohei Sambe in the final. Making him the youngest player ever to win an under 21 World Tour event by three years. This is on top of his shock wins in the last year against multiple highly ranked players such as Jens Lundqvist, Tan Ruiwu and Seiya Kishikawa has propelled him into the global table tennis spotlight.
Although this is an incredible and unheard of achievement for a player of his age, some of the table tennis community seems to be more focused on how he conducts himself on the court rather than his age defying feats. We are talking of course about his loud outbursts after a lot of points he wins. Of course he is still only a young child, and like most young children, he is very excitable. You would think as he matures and the pro tour environment becomes more normal to him he will change, and calm down a bit.
That being said, does he even need to calm down? What Harimoto is doing is displaying his unfiltered passion for the game, should he be pulled up on this or are emotional outbursts like this what the sport needs to make it more entertaining?
He is not the only professional player who has been criticised by table tennis fans for potentially over zealous celebrations. A wide variety of players for instance polarising figures such as Zhang Jike, Jean Michel Saive, Dimitrij Ovtcharov to name a few, are all known for their passionate displays on the court. They all have something in common though. Everyone wants to watch them play, they provoke discussion, they have an air of unpredictability about them so you are compelled to watch them because you never quite know what they are about to do next. Surely this is good thing and benefits the sport?
But is there a line that shouldn't be crossed? If so where do we draw this line? Should there be laws put in place to prevent over celebrating if it's deemed too disruptive?
We'd love to hear everyone's opinions on this subject and any examples you may have encountered where over celebrating has caused an issue.
Like and tweet our articles to the World. Lets spread the word of Table Tennis.
Written by: Thomas Jeffcott
TableTennisDaily