Country: Japan
Place of Birth: June 27, 2003
Date of Birth: Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Playing Style: Shakehand, Offensive, Right-handed
Table of Contents
Biography
Tomokazu Harimoto is a Japanese table tennis superstar born on June 27, 2003. His parents are both Chinese, and his birth name is Zhang Zhine. He started playing table tennis at the age of two, and in order to compete in the All-Japan Championships, Harimoto needed Japanese nationality. In the fourth grade, he became a naturalized Japanese citizen and legally changed his name from Zhang Zhine to Tomokazu Harimoto.
Harimoto became part of the Japanese junior national team at just 12 years old. He was chosen to compete in the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in France in 2015. His sister, Miwa Harimoto, is also currently a member of the Japanese national team.
At just 14 years old, Harimoto become the youngest table tennis player to evern win a seniors title when he won the World Tour Czech Open Olomouc 2017.
Harimoto is the youngest player ever to win an ITTF World Tour men’s singles title, claiming the Czech Open in 2017 at the age of 14. In 2018, he shocked the world by beating Ma Long in the semi-finals and Zhang Jike in the final of the ITTF World Tour Japan Open.
Harimoto holds a total of 15 senior titles – 7 WTT and 8 ITTF . He became the first-ever non-Chinese player to win the WTT Finals by defeating Truls Moregardh 4-2 in the final in WTT Finals Hong Kong 2025.
Harimoto is currently a leading figure in world table tennis. He has consistently been within the top 10 of the ITTF world rankings over the last decade.
Controversies
A controversy surrounding Harimoto and Wang Hao occurs during WTT Champions Yokohama 2025 quarter-finals during a match between Harimoto and Xiang Peng. At the end of the match, there was a moment that sparked debate: when Harimoto went to shake hands with Wang Hao (a prominent Chinese coach present at the table), observers online noticed the handshake interaction was awkward or briefly ignored.
On video clips, it looked like Wang Hao turned away quickly after the handshake, and Harimoto responded with a somewhat unusual gesture — shaking the air as if mimicking or reacting to being snubbed — which caught attention on social media and forums.
In many East Asian sports cultures, handshakes and respectful gestures after matches are taken very seriously. A quick or perfunctory handshake — or a coach turning away quickly — can be interpreted (especially by fans) as disrespectful, even if it wasn’t intended that way. That fuelled fan debate on social platforms like Reddit and Weibo. Some believed Wang Hao was genuinely busy or focused on coaching Xiang Peng and didn’t intend to snub Harimoto. Others thought Harimoto’s reaction was exaggerated or partly playful rather than a serious complaint.
Bottomline, the handshake incident was brief and likely not malicious in intent — it happened during a high-pressure moment when a coach was focused on his own players. Fans and social media turned it into a talking point because of cultural expectations around respect and the larger China–Japan sports rivalry.
Social Media
Tomokazu Harimoto has an active Instagram account. The handle is @harimoto__tomokazu_1711 .
Teammates
Tomokazu Harimoto teammates at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals Busan 2024:
Sora Matsushima
Shunsuke Togami
Hiroto Shinozuka
Yuta Tana
Playing Style
Tomokazu Harimoto is a right-handed shakehand-grip offensive player. He has a very explosive backhand and his greatest strengths at rallies.
Equipment
Tomokazu Harimoto uses Butterfly equipments. You can check full details of his equipment here.
World Ranking
Tomokazu Harimoto’s current world ranking is #5 .
Highest World Ranking
Tomokazu Harimoto reached his highest world ranking (#2) on November 22, 2022.
World Titles
Visit Tomokazu Harimoto World Titles to view all his world titles
Most Notable Win
Tomokazu Harimoto’s major breakthrough came when he was just 14 years old, defeating Ma Long in the quarter-finals and Zhang Jike in the final to win the ITTF World Tour Japan Open. This came as a shock to the global table tennis community, as Ma Long and Zhang Jike were in their prime.
