35th ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup 2026, Haikou, 2/4-8

[Gozo Zyreruna]

my prediction is 4-2

Oracle of Delphi...

 

[Gozo Zyreruna]

TH H2H WCQ: 4:14 - heard from the commentator.

 

[TTLOVE]

Wang Chuqin is just a superior player.
Sometimes Harimoto has a crazy performance but with his style he is not going to beat Wang in the long run.
I think Sora as better chance against Wang.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

Wang Chuqin is just a superior player.
Sometimes Harimoto has a crazy performance but with his style he is not going to beat Wang in the long run.
I think Sora as better chance against Wang.

yes but if he can seize his chances in a big competition instead of a WTT open, people will only remember those wins

 

[mikeytt]

 

[NextLevel]

Wang Chuqin is just a superior player.
Sometimes Harimoto has a crazy performance but with his style he is not going to beat Wang in the long run.
I think Sora as better chance against Wang.

You are not seeing the big picture IMHO. Wang can do these things when he is rested and healthy. He had a relatively easy event, getting pushed by only his teammate.ZQH.

Sora still has to get past TTR.

 

[zeio]

Atlas of Asian Cup 2026
Legend:
Winner - WCQ
Finalist - Togami
3rd wheel - Harimoto

 

[zeio]

WCQ on 4-2 Harimoto, praising Harimoto for becoming one of the most strongest players given his recent results, WCQ said he's become tougher himself in difficult situations, constantly coming up with solutions on-the-fly and being less affected by the score.
https://weibo.com/7931365635/QqVTW9TMJ

 

[rpb23]

On men's final, incredible plays from both players. I don't know how Tomokazu managed to sustain such fast and furious firepower from Wang and somehow, he still ended up at the losing end. No doubt, both players were in beast mode. I'll say this match was at the highest level for the last couple of years. After watching some matches in Europe top 16, it's safe to say the highest playing level is still found in Asia.

When WCQ is in superhuman form, he is almost unbeatable, regardless of who his opponents are, that even includes FZD

Unfortunately, for China, WCQ is currently her only trump card even though keeping him in top form for important moments is not easy. Maybe China does need FZD back for world championship and Olympics.

 

[zeio]

TH H2H WCQ: 4:14 - heard from the commentator.

1 of those 4 wins for Harimoto was in T2 APAC 2017, which is not even included/shown at results.ittf.link.

And with that, Harimoto is the non-CNT player to have the most wins over WCQ.

Tomokazu Harimoto vs Wang Chuqin | T2 APAC 2017 | Fixture 7 - Match 6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR0Ui3c9_vo

张本已经是赢过骰哥次数最多的外协了 (Harimoto is already the foreign player to have defeated Dice Bro the most)
https://tieba.baidu.com/p/10477168530

 

[blahness]

didn't work out for TH. I dont think he can have ever a positive record against WCQ but statistically he will always have some chance (20% ?) to win if he is on fire or WCQ a bit less in form.

I watched the match - Tomo played well but his structural issue is that he has way too little variation on receive which really makes WCQ's life a bit too easy on the 3rd ball and he is just under too much pressure.

So basically Tomo has 1) short push, 2) long push and 3) chiquita (with various spin variations). Just way too easy to anticipate for a player of WCQ's calibre.

He doesnt have the sideswipe pushes or the strawberry or the direct flicks (flicking on receive rather than 3rd ball) with all its variations like deep nospin or topspin flicks, short low flicks, pushes that produce sidetopspin, fake spin chiquita, etc...

 

[banbekas]

Tomo was losing the point everytime he went reactive against WCG. He needs to take the initiative more against Wang, as Wang's shot quality is so much better than LSD's. Tomorrow can defeat LSD playing reactively, but WCQ pounces on even a slightly soft ball.

Best way to deal with WCQ is by playing like that of FZD. Be consistent with above average shot quality, IMHO.

 

[NextLevel]

Tomo was losing the point everytime he went reactive against WCG. He needs to take the initiative more against Wang, as Wang's shot quality is so much better than LSD's. Tomorrow can defeat LSD playing reactively, but WCQ pounces on even a slightly soft ball.

Best way to deal with WCQ is by playing like that of FZD. Be consistent with above average shot quality, IMHO.

If WCQ was right handed, Tomo would eat him for dinner. That is my view.

 

[FIXPOINT]

ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup Haikou 2026 Groups WS

ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup Haikou 2026 Groups MS

ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup Haikou 2026 WS

ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup Haikou 2026 MS

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

I watched the match - Tomo played well but his structural issue is that he has way too little variation on receive which really makes WCQ's life a bit too easy on the 3rd ball and he is just under too much pressure.

So basically Tomo has 1) short push, 2) long push and 3) chiquita (with various spin variations). Just way too easy to anticipate for a player of WCQ's calibre.

He doesnt have the sideswipe pushes or the strawberry or the direct flicks (flicking on receive rather than 3rd ball) with all its variations like deep nospin or topspin flicks, short low flicks, pushes that produce sidetopspin, fake spin chiquita, etc...

I saw this somewhere. After the game, WCQ shouted to Wang Hao something like the training sessions worked very well. So I think the Chinese team figured out Harimoto's weakness or habits.

 

[blahness]

I saw this somewhere. After the game, WCQ shouted to Wang Hao something like the training sessions worked very well. So I think the Chinese team figured out Harimoto's weakness or habits.

Yep Harimoto definitely has a few bad habits for eg only doing slow spinny BH opening loops which opponents aim to counterloop hard, lack of variation in receive, no reverse pendulum/hook serve variation, weaker FH defence (which is basically his kryptonite at the moment).

However, Harimoto is super strong in the close table topspin rally if he manages to not get stuck in an unfavourable position in the beginning, so exploiting these holes is easier said than done. If the 3rd ball quality just isnt high enough, Harimoto gets into an even footing rally and then starts to take over.

If Harimoto improves his FH defence and counter, a lot of these WCQ 3rd balls aimed to his FH just would get countered back and WCQ will just have a much harder time playing against Harimoto.

Tbh he just needs to train his FH defence and counter with Sora who hits very hard just like WCQ, but I somehow get the feeling they are not on good terms?!

But in terms of receive variation, I have no idea why he is not working on it. It is a no brainer imo. I dont know why he always limits himself to playing very straightforward.

 

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

Yep Harimoto definitely has a few bad habits for eg only doing slow spinny BH opening loops which opponents aim to counterloop hard, lack of variation in receive, no reverse pendulum/hook serve variation, weaker FH defence (which is basically his kryptonite at the moment).

However, Harimoto is super strong in the close table topspin rally if he manages to not get stuck in an unfavourable position in the beginning, so exploiting these holes is easier said than done. If the 3rd ball quality just isnt high enough, Harimoto gets into an even footing rally and then starts to take over.

If Harimoto improves his FH defence and counter, a lot of these WCQ 3rd balls aimed to his FH just would get countered back and WCQ will just have a much harder time playing against Harimoto.

Tbh he just needs to train his FH defence and counter with Sora who hits very hard just like WCQ, but I somehow get the feeling they are not on good terms?!

But in terms of receive variation, I have no idea why he is not working on it. It is a no brainer imo. I dont know why he always limits himself to playing very straightforward.

The good thing about playing straightforward is that most often the next ball coming from the opponent is straightforward as well

 

[blahness]

The good thing about playing straightforward is that most often the next ball coming from the opponent is straightforward as well

That is true, but it also means that he will stay a rather 1 dimensional player where players like WCQ will always be exploiting him unless he has a very good day.

 

[XpingpingpongpongX]

That is true, but it also means that he will stay a rather 1 dimensional player where players like WCQ will always be exploiting him unless he has a very good day.

Does he lack receive variable in general? or only when playing against WCQ? We know WCQ's serves could be illegal sometimes. Maybe keeping it simple and straightforward is he's strategy to deal with that?

 

[blahness]

Does he lack receive variable in general? or only when playing against WCQ? We know WCQ's serves could be illegal sometimes. Maybe keeping it simple and straightforward is he's strategy to deal with that?

Yes, if you watch his other matches against other people it is exactly the same issue. This is also why he gets upset quite often too.