20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, 9/19-10/4

[Takkyu_wa_inochi]

None of us have seen the matches, this is pure speculation.

tbh i saw the match and it didnt seem to me Alamian's serve were illegal although he was called out on match point in G5

 

[zeio]

Miwa’s dad ain’t coaching her for her singles match against KKY.

I wonder why?

For having consistently given her poor advice? Regardless of the truth, many fans in China have been saying that for years...

 

[zeio]

The score is misleading if the official website is correct please fix.

I was keeping score of all 4 tables (2 live streams and 2 live scoring) and too focused on the end of the match I didn't realize until later I flipped the score of the last game. Perhaps I was successfully hypnotized by the "a very good shot at winning gold" comment that it became a personal reality.

 

[zeio]

tbh i saw the match and it didnt seem to me Alamian's serve were illegal although he was called out on match point in G5

Right. Some of them might have been borderline hidden but most were okayish, especially after the faults.

 

[zeio]

Terms and conditions: By clicking the following spoiler button, you agree to Chinamaxxing and must read out loud the following sentence 3 times - "Retire, Harimoto."

Should be accessible across the globe.

Spoiler

Commentary-free live stream of T1 of Day 7 (9/26)
Alamiyan 3-4 Harimoto @7:04:29
https://m.yangshipin.cn/portrait_video?vid=s000044b3cx
CCTV-5
@7:08:00
https://m.yangshipin.cn/portrait_video?vid=r000053dujs

 

[kindof99]

Couldn't stay up late enough to watch live, definitely explains how Noshad felt about game 7. He had probably accepted his defeat and played extremely relaxed.

As for Harimoto, his backhand is his greatest strength and his greatest weakness, I saw him seduced to rally backhsnd to backhand with Noshad on many points, he will learn his lesson thr hard way that the forehand pivot is not an outdated shot.

I was wondering why Harimoto played that often to Noshad's backhand too. Playing against a player like Noshad, serving and playing 90% to his forehand is not a bad choice.

Harimoto was probably too easy changing to another worse strategy when he lost one point with the optimal strategy.

 

[kindof99]

tbh i saw the match and it didnt seem to me Alamian's serve were illegal although he was called out on match point in G5

Harimoto's interview about the illegal serves, although it is in chinese.

 

[kindof99]

tbh i saw the match and it didnt seem to me Alamian's serve were illegal although he was called out on match point in G5

I think Noshad dared that the umpire did not dare to fault him all the time without TTR. Sometimes a serve is in a player's blood and he just can not get it out.

 

[NextLevel]

I was keeping score of all 4 tables (2 live streams and 2 live scoring) and too focused on the end of the match I didn't realize until later I flipped the score of the last game. Perhaps I was successfully hypnotized by the "a very good shot at winning gold" comment that it became a personal reality.

Nah, such things never interfere with your ability to discuss your infallibility. All of a sudden all your comments about the potential of Harimoto have disappeared into the ether and smart projections about the potential of Thai juniors have been converted into predictions of the success of the known mercurial Thai senior ladies. You can read your brilliance and the limitations of others into anything. Make a real prediction with hard time date that isn’t obvious. If it is right and not obvious, you can make money off it.

 

[kindof99]

Anyway, Noshad's last two long reverse serves to Harimoto's wide forehand is pretty smart and good choice. That was Harimoto's weak spot and it almost guaranteed a return to Noshad's backhand.

 

[NextLevel]

I was wondering why Harimoto played that often to Noshad's backhand too. Playing against a player like Noshad, serving and playing 90% to his forehand is not a bad choice.

Harimoto was probably too easy changing to another worse strategy when he lost one point with the optimal strategy.

Noshad blocks wrell but he also uses his backhand to change directions well so it isnt easy but you need to set him up and then overpower him but when Harimoto set him up, he often continued with rally backhands rather than pivot to bring the hammer. I suspect part of the danger was having beat Noshad before, it can lull you into a false sense of security. And the pressure obviously got to him given Noshad's ranking, he played better when there was no pressure.

 

[NextLevel]

tbh i saw the match and it didnt seem to me Alamian's serve were illegal although he was called out on match point in G5

Noshad's serves are illegal but they are not always hidden but he does vary a few things so it isn't always the same serve. In any case i was speaking about the Sora vs LSD match which was not streamed.

 

[kindof99]

Noshad blocks wrell but he also uses his backhand to change directions well so it isnt easy but you need to set him up and then overpower him but when Harimoto set him up, he often continued with rally backhands rather than pivot to bring the hammer. I suspect part of the danger was having beat Noshad before, it can lull you into a false sense of security. And the pressure obviously got to him given Noshad's ranking, he played better when there was no pressure.

Preparation is also important. I think Harimoto and his team probably did not prepare well before the match. It won't be an easy match for Noshad next one against WCQ. We will see. Without illegal serves, Noshad's game is actually fun to watch,

 

[kindof99]

Suddenly, LSD became a hero and was in a level to beat anyone. Is he?

 

[NextLevel]

Suddenly, LSD became a hero and was in a level to beat anyone. Is he?

I think people underestimate what the Chinese team do in terms of preparation and analysis of critical opponents. Thsy focus on how well the player plays but do not appreciate often how well prepared he was to take advantage of the weaknesses of that specific opponent in a way that other top countries have gotten better at matching bht are still gar behind China. Because of the draw LSD has been targetting Sora probably for a while and i wpildnt be surprised if part of the reason they played LSD at #3 in teams was that they also wanted to keep secret what their core tactics gor Sora were with LSD. They were really unlucky that Harimoto beat WCQ, their plan almost worked and if Wen had converted his game 4 lead, it could have been 3-0. It is easy to forget all of this just because the result didn't go as planned.

 

[NextLevel]

Harimoto's interview about the illegal serves, although it is in chinese.

From Claude:

Here's the translation of the Weibo post (from Tomokazu Harimoto's fan "super topic" page, reposting a Tokyo Sports article):

#Tomokazu Harimoto# #2026 Nagoya Asian Games#
September 26, 2026

[Table Tennis] Harimoto out in the quarterfinals after struggling with Iranian opponent's "gray area" serve: "There's a limit to what the umpires can do"
Source: Tokyo Sports (Tōspo)

Tomokazu Harimoto was troubled by his opponent's serves, which fell into a "gray area."

In the men's singles quarterfinal of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 26th at Sky Hall Toyota, world No. 3 Harimoto lost 3–4 to world No. 344 Noshad Alamiyan of Iran. He missed out on winning a second gold medal after his gold in the men's team event.

In table tennis, tossing the ball too low or hiding the serve with your body are both violations. However, this tournament did not use the "TTR" video review system.

Harimoto said: "Because there was no TTR, my opponent took good advantage of that. There were times when the umpire had the courage to call a service fault, but in the end, there's a limit to what umpires can do."

Harimoto was never able to solve Alamiyan's unusual serve and finished the singles event without playing to his full ability. Although he expressed dissatisfaction with Alamiyan's serve, he did not blame the loss on it.

(The next paragraph is cut off at the bottom of the screenshot. The visible fragment reads roughly: "...I've beaten him before, so there were also shortcomings on my part.")

A couple of notes: "TTR" (Table Tennis Review) is the video replay system used at major events to check disputed calls, including service faults. The Chinese transliteration 诺沙德·阿拉米扬 corresponds to Noshad Alamiyan, a veteran Iranian player. If you have a screenshot of the rest of the post, I can translate that part too.

 

[NextLevel]

They seem to have deleted/moved the streaming video but as you can see (and this is a common serve from Alamiyan), this serve is not vertica. - it is very hard to be less than 30 degrees if you start your toss at the middle of the table and contact it closer to the corner if you do not go well over your head like Kanak. And Alamiyan serves often like this but umpire incompetence just lets him get away with it.

 

[kindof99]

Harimoto played game 6 quite well, and then quite lost his focus at the beginning of game 7. CNT coaches always say "biting" the score, which means not open a big whole in score in a game. Once Alamiyan got 3 points ahead and got chances to serve at the end, Harimoto was done.

 

[kindof99]

They seem to have deleted/moved the streaming video but as you can see (and this is a common serve from Alamiyan), this serve is not vertica. - it is very hard to be less than 30 degrees if you start your toss at the middle of the table and contact it closer to the corner if you do not go well over your head like Kanak. And Alamiyan serves often like this but umpire incompetence just lets him get away with it.

It would be hidden as well usually

 

[kindof99]

I think people underestimate what the Chinese team do in terms of preparation and analysis of critical opponents. Thsy focus on how well the player plays but do not appreciate often how well prepared he was to take advantage of the weaknesses of that specific opponent in a way that other top countries have gotten better at matching bht are still gar behind China. Because of the draw LSD has been targetting Sora probably for a while and i wpildnt be surprised if part of the reason they played LSD at #3 in teams was that they also wanted to keep secret what their core tactics gor Sora were with LSD. They were really unlucky that Harimoto beat WCQ, their plan almost worked and if Wen had converted his game 4 lead, it could have been 3-0. It is easy to forget all of this just because the result didn't go as planned.

All the speculation that picking LSD for the team even was a better choice is so weird. LSD will almost lose to Harimoto for sure, and WRB probably to Sora as well. LSD might or might not beat Sora in a b05 team match (My opinion is might not). So the result would not be any better, china lost 1:3 or 2:3.