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The story
At the Asian Games currently underway in Nagoya, Aichi, in the men’s table tennis singles quarterfinals, world No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto (Toyota Motor) lost 3-4 in a full-game battle to world No. 344 Noshad Alamiyan of Iran. Harimoto had just won gold in the team event at this tournament, and the loss to an opponent ranked more than 300 spots below him was seen as a major upset. On 5ch, opinions were divided over the cause of the defeat — some pointed to fatigue from the team competition, others viewed the opponent as an experienced veteran, and some even suggested that world rankings don’t accurately reflect real skill.
9/26 (Sat) 18:05
◆Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Day 8, Table Tennis (26th, Skyhall Toyota)
In the men’s singles quarterfinals, ace and world No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto (Toyota Motor) suffered a shock defeat, falling 3-4 (9-11●, 7-11●, 11-3○, 6-11●, 16-14○, 11-6○, 9-11●) to world No. 344 Noshad Alamiyan (Iran).
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Kinda like beating Sannoh and then losing the very next match (Slam Dunk reference)
But when he's on, he's genuinely strong
Same as Shohoku after they beat Sannoh (Slam Dunk reference)
Can't really call him top-tier
That's really a stretch
He's turned the momentum around in tons of matches before
Stop saying stuff that doesn't even make sense
Nothing but dumb excuses and fanboying
Even world ranking points only come from singles, not the team event
The team event is basically just foreplay compared to this.
He kept his composure and pulled through anyway. Genuinely impressive.
Though I guess it's no laughing matter for him…
Even when he's ahead early, he often lets it drag to a full set and loses
Usually it'd go the other way
Motivation was probably low too
You're not alone in it (´・ω・`) (looks like a lyric quote)
Maybe the top 300 are mostly Western players
It's not like a player who's genuinely still No. 344 level could make it to the quarterfinals anyway
The opponent is a real veteran
So it's not exactly a sudden rise
He's decently strong
Not sure, but the low ranking's probably just from not playing many international matches lately
Player rankings rise and fall based on results at high-point international tournaments, so players who lack the funding to travel and compete abroad end up ranked lower than their actual skill
Heaven to hell, huh
Not even sure the team event counts as 'heaven' to begin with
Background and Discussion Points
Table tennis world rankings are calculated from points earned at ITTF-sanctioned international tournaments. Because opportunities to travel and levels of federation support vary widely, players who are skilled but face financial barriers to competing abroad can end up ranked well below their actual ability. In the thread, theories for the loss ranged from “burnout after the team event” to “the opponent’s rapid improvement,” but neither is confirmed by the article or the tournament organizers — both are simply speculation from posters. Opinions in the thread were also split on whether Alamiyan, the opponent, is an “experienced veteran” or “a player who’s improved in recent years,” and his actual career history can’t be verified from the article text.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “[Asian Games] Table Tennis: Tomokazu Harimoto Stunned — Shock Upset in Singles Quarterfinal, Full-Game Loss to World No. 344 Iranian Player.”
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