Ma Long @WTTC2026: Harimoto Tomokazu is the Best Non-CNT Player.

[JackJohnson]

His wife is Japanese ?

Daria Trigolos, a table tennis player from Belarus

 

[J-fed]

Daria Trigolos, a table tennis player from Belarus

Pretty sure he was making a joke about J-women being hard a$$es at home.

 

[jonol]

I think best non-Chinese player would be Truls by a very slight margin, going by last 12 months.

I see Harimoto, Truls, F. Lebrun, and more recently also Sora Matsushima, as all being in a similar range. I don't necessarily expect them to win a major event, but if they are in the draw I would expect all of them to be likely to reach quarterfinal and have a good chance to come up with a tournament W. I think you could make an argument for any of these 4 to be the 'best' non-Chinese player based on recent performances.

 

[NextLevel]

I think best non-Chinese player would be Truls by a very slight margin, going by last 12 months.

I see Harimoto, Truls, F. Lebrun, and more recently also Sora Matsushima, as all being in a similar range. I don't necessarily expect them to win a major event, but if they are in the draw I would expect all of them to be likely to reach quarterfinal and have a good chance to come up with a tournament W. I think you could make an argument for any of these 4 to be the 'best' non-Chinese player based on recent performances.

Even with his occasional struggles, I would add LYJ to that list as well. That said, the Tiebans know table tennis and we don't and it seems Ma Long is on their side so...

 

[jonol]

Even with his occasional struggles, I would add LYJ to that list as well. That said, the Tiebans know table tennis and we don't and it seems Ma Long is on their side so...

Yeah I just rattled the names that spring to mind recently, but I think LYJ and Calderano probably also are in that same bracket of players you expect to go deep in a tournament bracket.

I would say any of those players could come up with a few deep runs at a major or even a win, and it puts them in the conversation for best recent player after WCQ. Matsushima seems to be in incredible form recently as well.

 

[M51]

I disagree with Ma Long, lmao.

 

[NextLevel]

Yeah I just rattled the names that spring to mind recently, but I think LYJ and Calderano probably also are in that same bracket of players you expect to go deep in a tournament bracket.

I would say any of those players could come up with a few deep runs at a major or even a win, and it puts them in the conversation for best recent player after WCQ. Matsushima seems to be in incredible form recently as well.

Calderano is significantly older which is the main reason I didn't mention him. These are great times for table tennis, all these talents roughly 18-25 years old battling it out. Likely to continue for another 4 years at least.

 

[Kilogramme]

I can say, and most people might agree with me. I think WCQ is clear ahead. But behind, Tomo, Sora, and felix are at the same level. Nowadays with the number of tournament and league matches, it is harder than ever to be consistent on top tournament. Even WCQ lost some match, but when there is a championship or world cup, he does not lose. I think the 3 non chinese are really the best non chinese, and depend on the tournament, one can play better than the other two. I don't have recent match of Tomo in mind, but the level he putted on FZD at the Olympics, is definately top class. So does Sora on WCQ earlier this year or this US Smash, same for Felix. When they are at their peak performance, I think all 3 have same level, and the match can switch from one to the other.

 

[piligrim]

 

[NetProphet]

Remember people, the silly reason for this post is that Harimoto likes to make fun of Truls Moregardh, and when we pointed out how silly Harimoto was being in the face of Truls performances at big moments, @zeio as usual started doubling down as if anyone really thinks Harimoto is a bad player in some way when the main point was that making fun of Truls who has more hardware than Harimoto at the moment is really silly. Harimoto is clearly and easily one of the best TT talents in the world and of all time. But if someone says that they think Matsushima is better or Truls has performed better or Felix is going to have a better career, these are all reasonable opinions, just as is Ma Long's. What is more interesting than Ma Long's answer is understanding why he puts Harimoto above the others and that would require a more nuanced conversation.

Well Thomas Sowell did many years ago predict the death of nuance in our society as people become more one dimensional in their thinking 🤷

 

[NetProphet]

If you want to know who's the best non-chinese player better ask a non-biased chinese athlete. ML is a CNT representative, he obeys the PRC official guidelines, so if Lin-Yun Ju had a better ranking, he'd said LYJ, Tony would understand for sure why I'm saying this, and yes it has to do with anything related to China's geopolitics, if it was Chen TianYuan who's now french he would have said Chen TianYuan. To me better ask Fan Zhendong, the less biased chinese athlete non related anymore to the CNT. FZD has certainly way more freedom of speech than ML.

And about football or basketball being more famous than in the PRC, It makes me laugh hard: when you're an NBA player without contract like recently Killian Hayes after his interim at Sacramento, the second option is Europe, and not because of the Euroleague you simply make a better living there playing in national leagues, then Australia cos' there's a really strong league there developing talented 16 to 19 years old teens before the NBA draft, then only China. Guershon Yabusele once said that at one point in his career he was so down mentally he was ok to play in China, that tells ya how much mediocre you have to be or feel to play there. So please, be serious a minute.

Football, well the women's team is decent that's for sure, like basketball, but anything boys/mens team is atrocious, failing to qualify in any world cup since 2002, ousted in pool matches. And it was their 1st ever WC... Olympics... you have to go back to 1936, Asian Cup... never won any, 2 finals in 1984 and 2004. Why do you think japanese and south-korean players get contracts in top UEFA teams, but not any chinese one ? even the japanese rugby top tier league, mostly made for retired australians, south-africans and all-blacks players, makes more annual revenues than the basketball chinese league. It's well-known the football CSL is rigged by corruption at every stage, and it's that way since more than a decade. even the US MLS looks "decent" compared to the CSL, even if it's for retired top international players, the only exception being Leo Messi, but when you look at Inter Miami performances in last year's FIFA Club World Cup, that's not good, Inter Miami could barely win games in the Europa League. Everyone knows that, only the americans from the USA thinks their MLS players are semi-gods... mostly because they know nothing about football, Alexi Lalas is being punished every night by Zlatan and Titi because he's the worst pundit ever football has ever seen, a former Team USA international player, that tells a lot. Pulisic will be a way better pundit when he'll retire, because he knows what football really is, playing in Italy since a while now, Lalas has played 2 years in Padova, then back to the US, too much mediocre player according to the european standards.

China bans 73 and punishes top football clubs in latest corruption scandal

China's former football chief and national team coach are among 73 to receive lifetime bans for match-fixing.

www.aljazeera.com

A few bottles of wine consumed. Then this 😂
Can't see how the level of play in the CBBL corresponds at all with the games overall popularity among kids.
I stopped reading the football bit as it had no meaning as regards this discussion.
Maybe when you sober up you can tell us what any of this was supposed to mean? 😉

 

[jonol]

Actually it's Matsushima now. Anyone who disagrees is wrong.

 

[zeio]

Off The Bounce #2 - US Smash 2026 Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaeKsDP-0UU

Off The Bounce #3 - First Half of 2026 Recap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RHkRcZLsv4

OTB #4 - WTT Champions Yokohama & Europe Smash Preview - New Table Tennis Podcast!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mZbOd-8FzQ

 

[tokatci]

Fraser Riley is pretentious and arrogant. The guy is unbearable

 

[zeio]

OTB #5 - WTT Champions Yokohama & Europe Smash Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avMnJgMCZhU

 

[zeio]

Off The Bounce - EP6: Sora Matsushima deep dive! The tactics, the technique, the AURA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb7l_UrLnsM

 

[kindof99]

We will see whether China really loses its dominance after the WTTC next year. I think that is the only event that matters most to CNT before the Olympics. WCQ seems to be on the downhill, but a closed CNT training might boost him again.

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

We will see whether China really loses its dominance after the WTTC next year. I think that is the only event that matters most to CNT before the Olympics. WCQ seems to be on the downhill, but a closed CNT training might boost him again.

Hmmm... He has a 33-2 record this year including winning every single match at the 2026 WTTTC when his compatriots were struggling. Don't know how that's considered downhill.

 

[kindof99]

Hmmm... He has a 33-2 record this year including winning every single match at the 2026 WTTTC when his compatriots were struggling. Don't know how that's considered downhill.

Well, CNT had big closed training for WTTTC. But I think he is struggling to win more often now. Let's see how he perform in the Asian game and coming WTT events.

 

[NextLevel]

Well, CNT had big closed training for WTTTC. But I think he is struggling to win more often now. Let's see how he perform in the Asian game and coming WTT events.

His physical style predisposes him towards injury driven drops. I don't think his level is dropping, it is just the demands of the WTTC schedule require him to manage his health better, he can't play every event so he needs to figure out something. I think he needs to change his style a bit for certain opponents, but they will figure it out, they do this full time.