Harimoto defeats Fan Zhendong | Asian Cup 2018

[zeio]

In one report, Harimoto said he missed so much he squandered his chances. He got hotheaded and that clouded his judgment. His technique was like 60-80% but needed to be 80-90%. He needed to keep up the pressure until the opponent missed but he just went all in and doomed if the ball came back.

In another report, he said he found it strange that he missed in the beginning. Jeong missed tons at the Team World Cup but didn't miss today.

In another tweet by the ITTF, he said he couldn't return Jeong's fast blocks.

It's all over the place. To me he doesn't even know why he lost.

 

[NextLevel]

In one report, Harimoto said he missed so much he squandered his chances. He got hotheaded and that clouded his judgment. His technique was like 60-80% but needed to be 80-90%. He needed to keep up the pressure until the opponent missed but he just went all in and doomed if the ball came back.

In another report, he said he found it strange that he missed in the beginning. Jeong missed tons at the Team World Cup but didn't miss today.

In another tweet by the ITTF, he said he couldn't return Jeong's fast blocks.

It's all over the place. To me he doesn't even know why he lost.

He knows why he lost he is just too proud to say it and not willing to cede that to his opponents. First of all, Jeong was playing out of his mind with a super level of consistency. As someone who has played Ma Long tough, he knows how to hit a level that is very consistent.

Of course he also took advantage of Harimoto's forehand. And Harimoto will not admit that people should play his forehand.

 

[ttmonster]

To me his footwork seemed slower than other matches and even on the backhand opener he missed too many than normal ... I still think the kid was injured .. .he is just too proud to say so ... and thats why all those varied explanation ...

He knows why he lost he is just too proud to say it and not willing to cede that to his opponents. First of all, Jeong was playing out of his mind with a super level of consistency. As someone who has played Ma Long tough, he knows how to hit a level that is very consistent.

Of course he also took advantage of Harimoto's forehand. And Harimoto will not admit that people should play his forehand.

 

[NextLevel]

To me his footwork seemed slower than other matches and even on the backhand opener he missed too many than normal ... I still think the kid was injured .. .he is just too proud to say so ... and thats why all those varied explanation ...

Definitely possible but he beats WCT 4-0 after. In the end we just have to accept that the matches are what they are. Jeong was once expected to be a top level player. You don't see it all the time but sometimes you do. Think about how many players have beaten Ma Long, injured or healthy, in the last 10 years. Then remember that Jeong is on that list. Then let it sink in.

 

[TTLOVE]

This is the full match guys

 

[WorkerBee]

Thank you so much!!!

 

[jawien]

What happened at 5:01 of the above (sets 2:1, points 1:0)? Seem to be Fan's point on 1:1, but it went to Harimoto.

 

[ttmonster]

Oh ! Absolutely ! I am a big fan of Jeong .. .he is a character and when he is on he is on , no questions about that ... he totally deserved to win that match , I am not taking away anything from him ... what I meant was that I expected Harimoto to put up more of a fight ... like he always does , somehow it seemed to me that he was missing that gear in this match ... Jeong has the ability to pull off out of the world shots in clutch moments more than other people , which I haven't seen WCT do , I may be wrong . That kind of ability puts extraordinary pressure on the opponent.

Definitely possible but he beats WCT 4-0 after. In the end we just have to accept that the matches are what they are. Jeong was once expected to be a top level player. You don't see it all the time but sometimes you do. Think about how many players have beaten Ma Long, injured or healthy, in the last 10 years. Then remember that Jeong is on that list. Then let it sink in.

 

[NextLevel]

Oh ! Absolutely ! I am a big fan of Jeong .. .he is a character and when he is on he is on , no questions about that ... he totally deserved to win that match , I am not taking away anything from him ... what I meant was that I expected Harimoto to put up more of a fight ... like he always does , somehow it seemed to me that he was missing that gear in this match ... Jeong has the ability to pull off out of the world shots in clutch moments more than other people , which I haven't seen WCT do , I may be wrong . That kind of ability puts extraordinary pressure on the opponent.

This is the same WCT that beat Harimoto (3-0) and Koki Niwa in February, beat Lee Sang Su and took two games of Ma Long in Germany . As much as it is in vogue to call WCT overrated, the point here is that there is no need to find excuses for the kid. The kid is also pointing out that he expected an easier match from JSE based on what happened in February where I think HT won 3-1, but today, JSE was just not missing.

As someone pointed out on MyTT - in this very Asian Cup:

HT beats FZD
FZD beats LSS
LSS beats LGY
LGY beats JSE
JSE beats HT

Table tennis is like that.

 

[tropical]

Some people don't like his scream. I do not mind him screaming after winning a point, though. A 14 y/o kid with such potential should be treated differently, I mean carefully, than others. Funny thing is some Chinese called him ethnic Chinese when he beat their players, then laughed or mocked at him when he lost to others. Such folks are indeed cruel, sometimes!

He definitely will need to sharpen his mental game. Probably look closely at XX, Timo as examples to understand how these great players can come back and win in extremely impossible cases.

 

[ttmonster]

Whoever pointed that out , made a lot of points , oh and I am not really trying to make excuses I am just trying to understand why he could not put up more of a fight ... I am not taking for granted he will win every time .. but he puts up more fight in general

This is the same WCT that beat Harimoto (3-0) and Koki Niwa in February, beat Lee Sang Su and took two games of Ma Long in Germany . As much as it is in vogue to call WCT overrated, the point here is that there is no need to find excuses for the kid. The kid is also pointing out that he expected an easier match from JSE based on what happened in February where I think HT won 3-1, but today, JSE was just not missing.

As someone pointed out on MyTT - in this very Asian Cup:

HT beats FZD
FZD beats LSS
LSS beats LGY
LGY beats JSE
JSE beats HT

Table tennis is like that.

 

[WorkerBee]

This match is like two Cobras fighting, amazing. The speed, accuracy, footwork!! Is it going to be like this for the next 10 years? Sometimes it's so fast you can only tell the winner by which one clenches their fist and yells.

 

[ttmonster]

I have stopped engaging such people , its not worth getting into a conversation with them ... misplaced nationalism is in rise all of over the world and its sad that educated people can't look beyond it ... but its the way it is ... let us just remain table tennis fan and appreciate the sport instead of focusing on the narrow mindedness ...

Some people don't like his scream. I do not mind him screaming after winning a point, though. A 14 y/o kid with such potential should be treated differently, I mean carefully, than others. Funny thing is some Chinese called him ethnic Chinese when he beat their players, then laughed or mocked at him when he lost to others. Such folks are indeed cruel, sometimes!

He definitely will need to sharpen his mental game. Probably look closely at XX, Timo as examples to understand how these great players can come back and win in extremely impossible cases.

 

[NextLevel]

Whoever pointed that out , made a lot of points , oh and I am not really trying to make excuses I am just trying to understand why he could not put up more of a fight ... I am not taking for granted he will win every time .. but he puts up more fight in general

If we take the kid at his word, he thought he should be able to overpower JSE and got frustrated when he couldn't and couldn't adjust to the fact that what worked 6 weeks ago wasn't working now.

 

[WorkerBee]

...HT beats FZD
FZD beats LSS
LSS beats LGY
LGY beats JSE
JSE beats HT

Table tennis is like that.

So very true, except in this case, one of them is 14.

 

[James Livesey]

Regarding his training, I have no doubts has it pretty damn good for TT specifically. As a 14 y/o though, I doubt he has optimal fitness training. He's still growing! When he's able to fully develop body wise, he'll be quite a bit better.

 

[bbkon]

what is upssetting tomo is the subtle change of speed and spin and tomo likes.to blast at full speed if a player is consistent enough at medium speed and spin have lot of chance to beat tomo he seems to be very stiff and cant adapt to sudden soft balls

 

[Persistence TT]

Not if you have followed them closely for several years. Ishikawa is the perfect counterexample. Mizutani peaked at the right time once at Rio. The JNT still hasn't cracked the code when it comes to peaking at the right time. WCT of Hong Kong has spoken he had always peaked at the wrong time. Germany, South Korea and Sweden are the other 3 countries who have managed it consistently at various points in history.

your arguements just wont work.

 

[Persistence TT]

lol he beated one of the top chinese and still some people are sceptical. no one was that consistent at his age and losing games to various different styles is quite normal, this win comes natural to me just earlier than I expected. FZD isnt the most creative /smart fella in the top TT, he always likes to keep it simple and solid and this has its pros and cons

 

[Free bird]

Again, not trying to dampen majority of folks’ enthusiasms here, let’s face the reality: the kid is not at the same level as fzd. Give him sometime to develop strength and skills. For the next two years in preparation for the Olympics, If I were Japanese team head coach, I would ignore Chinese players and exclusively focuse on beating Dima,Timo,Hugo, gauzy s, Freitas m.... so many worthy competitors to worry about in such a short time....