Recently I had a debate with a co-player from my club concerning the "screams" of Harimoto.
He claims that Harimoto shouts to hype himself, while I believe he shouts to intimidate and irritate the opponent in an unsportsmanlike fashion.
The question in short is:
"Do you believe that the constant "cho-leing" of Harimoto during the matches, is disrespectful to the opponent and to the sport"?
My personal view is yes that it is. Let me give you my reasoning.
1. Most players shout "cho-le" after they've won a good rally, after they've won a critical point, after they've done a good serve that the opponent misread etc. So basically, there are only certain moments that plyers shout "cho-le".
Harimoto on the other hand, shouts IN EVERY SINGLE POINT right from the first point,regardless if he won the point or it was an opponent's unforced error.
That completely refutes the argument that "Harimoto shouts in order to hype himself". A player needs hyping in certain moments of tension, not all the time. If you do it all the time, it completely loses its meaning. It's like drinking Red Bull all day long instead of water, all day long... At some point it will have no effect....
2. Some people claim that Harimoto "is just a 16-17 year old kid" that goes up against "giants" and we should go easy on him.
I disagree. Harimoto is not just a kid and does not have the life of the average 17 year old kid. He is a professional athlete of the highest level, that has been trained from a very early age. he should respect the sport and his fellow athletes.
3. I've heard the argument that "Since it is allowed by the rules, even if it is irritating for his opponents, why shouldn't he do it if it helps him"?
Well I'll tell you what: There are things that are allowed, but we don't do them out of respect for the others and for ourselves.
let me give you an extreme example: Farting is allowed in public, but you don't see anyone that farts in the presence of other people, do you?
I'd like to hear the opinion of other forum members on the matter.