{"id":71435,"date":"2026-08-09T22:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T22:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/71435\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T22:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T22:37:15","slug":"table-tennis-harimoto-siblings-capture-singles-titles-in-yokohama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/71435\/","title":{"rendered":"Table Tennis: Harimoto Siblings Capture Singles Titles in Yokohama"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the final day of the World Table Tennis Champions Yokohama<\/a> tournament, Miwa Harimoto<\/a> and Tomokazu Harimoto <\/a>demonstrated their all-around excellence in their chosen sport.<\/p>\n

The Sendai-born siblings won the women’s and men’s singles competitions, respectively, on Sunday, August 9.<\/p>\n

At Yokohama Buntai, top-seeded Miwa Harimoto, 18, outplayed China’s third-seeded Xingtong Chen<\/a> in the women’s final, winning 4-2 (13-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 1-11, 11-7).<\/p>\n

It was Harimoto’s second WTT Champions event title of 2026. In mid-March, she prevailed in a seven-set duel against Chinese opponent Man Kuai in Chongqing, China, in the final.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, in the men’s championship match, Tomokazu Harimoto defeated unseeded South Korean Jun Sung Oh<\/a> 4-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8, 11-7). The 23-year-old also won this tournament in 2025.<\/p>\n

“As for the difficulty of the match, it was certainly more difficult compared to last year, and there was also the pressure of being a champion once again,” Harimoto said after defeating Oh.<\/p>\n

“But when I think about the value of this victory, it’s not just my own achievement \u2015 Miwa and I both won here.”<\/p>\n

\"tableTomokazu Harimoto in action on the final day of the World Table Tennis Champions Yokohama tournament. (\u00a9WORLD TABLE TENNIS)<\/p>\n

Staying Strong in the Table Tennis Tournament <\/p>\n

World No 5 Tomokazu Harimoto paid tribute to his younger sister after his first World Table Tennis Champions title of the year.<\/p>\n

“It was a really good final,” he said, according to Kyodo News. “I received power from my sister from the first round on my way to the top.”<\/p>\n

Harimoto defeated Australia’s Nicholas Lum, China’s Peng Xiang and France’s Alexis Lebrun in succession to reach the semifinals.<\/p>\n

In the penultimate round, Harimoto conquered top-seeded Sora Matsushima<\/a> 4-2 (11-4, 11-9, 8-11, 15-17, 11-5, 11-9) to advance to the final.<\/p>\n

The Yokohama event began on August 4. <\/p>\n

\"tableMiwa Harimoto competes in the women’s singles final at Yokohama Buntai. (\u00a9WORLD TABLE TENNIS)<\/p>\n

Miwa Harimoto’s Path to Victory <\/p>\n

Before meeting Chen in the women’s final, Miwa Harimoto recorded five-game victories over Honoka Hashimoto<\/a> and China’s Yi Chen, followed by a dominant triumph over South Korea’s Yubin Shin in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Then, in the semifinals, Harimoto beat No 4 seed Yidi Wang of China 4-2 (4-11, 12-10, 12-10, 14-12, 8-11, 11-6).<\/p>\n


\n\"Japan<\/a>
\nRELATED:<\/p>\n

Author: Ed Odeven<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow Ed’s [Japan Sports Notebook]<\/a> on Sundays, [Odds and Evens]<\/a> during the week, and he can be found on X (formerly Twitter) \uff20ed_odeven<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\tContinue Reading<\/p>\n

\t