China-born siblings aim to usher in ‘Japan’s table tennis era’ at Asian Games

Tomokazu Harimoto and his sister Miwa, born and raised in Japan, aim to lead a table tennis era for Japan despite their Chinese heritage.

Both siblings have achieved significant success, winning medals at the Olympics and global championships, and continue to compete fervently in major tournaments.

Their family prioritizes education and passion over professional pressure, valuing table tennis as a joyful pursuit rather than just a career.

TOKYO, Sept 15 — Tomokazu Harimoto and his younger sister Miwa have followed in their parents’ footsteps by becoming professional table tennis players — but took their own path by representing Japan instead of rivals China.

The siblings’ parents were born in China and their mother represented the country — which has long dominated table tennis — at the 1995 world championships.

But Tomokazu and Miwa were born and raised in Japan, where their parents moved in 1998 to work as coaches.

The siblings started playing table tennis as soon as they were old enough to pick up a bat, and it has brought them Olympic and world championship medals.

They have beaten some of China’s best players and are looking to do so again at this month’s Asian Games on home soil in Nagoya.

“I want to make the coming six to 10 years into Japan’s era,” Tomokazu told Nikkei Asia earlier this year.

The 23-year-old is ranked fourth in the world.

Miwa, 18, is number three in the women’s rankings.

Although they play for Japan, both are broadly popular in China and give interviews in fluent Chinese as well as Japanese.

But they have faced criticism from some fans in China.

Tomokazu in particular came under fire ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics for visiting a Tokyo shrine that is seen in China as glorifying Japan’s military history.

Being born in Japan does not guarantee citizenship so the siblings acquired it in 2014 along with their father, enabling them to compete in Japan’s national championships.

Their father Zhang Yu, who became known as Yu Harimoto, said his children had been around table tennis since they were babies.

He and his wife Zhang Ling coached at a table tennis club in Sendai, and he said they had no choice but to bring their children to work with them.

He stressed that their family philosophy was “health comes first, then study, then table tennis”.

“My wife and I wanted our children to do what they were supposed to do at each stage, correctly and properly,” Yu Harimoto told Goethe magazine in 2024.

Tomokazu found success at a young age, winning the under-21 Japan Open at 12 before becoming the youngest world junior champion at 13.

He stunned the table tennis world weeks short of his 15th birthday when he beat China’s Olympic champions Ma Long and Zhang Jike on the way to the Japan Open title.

Yu Harimoto said his son’s early success sorely tested he and his wife’s policy of putting their children’s education first.

“Personally, once Tomokazu started competing in tournaments and winning, I did feel that he could do with a little more practice,” he said.

“But at home, giving priority to what my wife says is the best policy.”

‘Practice with passion’

Miwa quickly set about emulating her brother’s success.

She won two medals at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou, taking silver in the women’s team event and bronze in women’s doubles.

She also won silver in the women’s team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, following on from her brother’s bronze in the men’s team competition at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Miwa will compete in four events at the Asian Games and Tomokazu will be involved in three.

The pair swept the board at the WTT Champions Yokohama tournament last month, with Miwa winning the women’s singles title and Tomokazu topping the men’s podium.

For all their success, their father says that having fun is the most important thing.

“Children who practise with passion because they love table tennis make the most progress,” he said.

“My wife and I would have accepted it if Tomokazu and Miwa had said they wanted to give up table tennis.

“After all, we didn’t start them playing with the intention of turning them into professionals.” — AFP

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尽管拥有中国血统，但出生并成长于日本的张本智和和他的妹妹美和，立志要引领日本乒乓球走向新的时代。

这对兄妹都取得了显著的成就，在奥运会和世界锦标赛上赢得了奖牌，并且继续在各大赛事中积极参赛。

他们的家庭将教育和爱好置于职业压力之上，视乒乓球为一种快乐的追求，而不仅仅是一项职业。

东京，9 月 15 日——张本智和和他的妹妹张本美和继承了父母的衣钵，成为职业乒乓球运动员——但他们选择了一条不同的道路，代表日本而不是竞争对手中国参赛。

这对兄妹的父母出生于中国，他们的母亲曾代表中国（中国长期以来在乒乓球领域占据主导地位）参加 1995 年世界锦标赛。

但友和与美和在日本出生长大，他们的父母于 1998 年移居日本，从事教练工作。

这对兄妹从能拿起球拍的年纪就开始打乒乓球，并因此获得了奥运会和世界锦标赛的奖牌。

他们已经击败了中国的一些最优秀球员，并希望在本月于名古屋本土举行的亚运会上再次取得胜利。

“我希望未来六到十年成为日本的时代，”今年早些时候，Tomokazu 告诉《日经亚洲》。

这位23岁的选手世界排名第四。

18岁的美和在女子排名第三。

虽然他们为日本队效力，但两人在中国都非常受欢迎，并且都能用流利的中文和日语接受采访。

但他们也遭到了中国部分粉丝的批评。

在 2024 年巴黎奥运会前夕，友和因参拜东京一座被中国视为美化日本军事历史的神社而受到抨击。

出生在日本并不能保证获得日本国籍，因此这对兄妹在 2014 年与他们的父亲一起获得了日本国籍，使他们能够参加日本全国锦标赛。

他们的父亲张宇（后来被称为张本裕）说，他的孩子们从婴儿时期就开始接触乒乓球。

他和妻子张玲在仙台的一家乒乓球俱乐部担任教练，他说他们别无选择，只能带着孩子一起去工作。

他强调，他们家的理念是“健康第一，学习第二，乒乓球第三”。

“我和妻子希望我们的孩子在每个阶段都能正确、恰当地做他们应该做的事情，”张本裕在2024年接受歌德杂志采访时说道。

友和从小就取得了成功，12 岁时赢得了 21 岁以下日本公开赛冠军，13 岁时成为最年轻的世界青少年冠军。

在他即将年满 15 岁前几周，他击败了中国的奥运冠军马龙和张继科，夺得了日本公开赛的冠军，震惊了乒乓球界。

Yu Harimoto表示，儿子的早早成功严重考验了他和妻子将子女教育放在首位的政策。

“就我个人而言，当友和开始参加比赛并赢得胜利后，我确实觉得他还需要多加练习，”他说。

“但在家里，我会优先考虑我妻子认为最好的做法。”

“满怀热情地练习”

美和很快就开始效仿哥哥的成功。

她在2023年杭州亚运会上获得两枚奖牌，分别是女子团体赛银牌和女子双打铜牌。

她还在 2024 年巴黎奥运会女子团体赛中获得银牌，此前她的哥哥在 2021 年东京奥运会男子团体赛中获得铜牌。

美和将参加亚运会的四个项目，而友和将参加三个项目。

上个月，这对组合在 WTT 冠军赛横滨站比赛中包揽了所有奖项，Miwa 赢得了女子单打冠军，Tomokazu 则登上了男子单打冠军的宝座。

尽管他们取得了如此成就，但他们的父亲说，享受乐趣才是最重要的。

他说：“那些因为热爱乒乓球而充满热情地练习的孩子进步最大。”

“如果友和美和说他们想放弃乒乓球，我和妻子都会接受的。”

“毕竟，我们当初让他们踢球的目的并不是为了把他们培养成职业球员。”——法新社

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