The joy of Ilharimoto, who took away Shin Yu-bin's dream of seed No. 2 "Ilpan, the highest expectation of the Paris Olympics"

Jul 08, 2024

Harimoto Tomokazu celebrates securing the No. 2 seed from behind by marking the number 2 with two fingers. Source = WTT

출처=WTT

'Korea's ace group' Shin Yoo-bin (Korean Air) and Lim Jong-hoon (Korea Exchange) lost the second seed for mixed doubles to Japan at the Paris Olympics. Japan's Harimoto Tomokazu-Hayata Hinazo won the World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Bangkok Mixed Doubles Final in Thailand on the 7th (Korea time) by beating Hong Kong's Wong Chun-ting and Du Hoi-Kemzo 3-1 with a game score. By securing 600 ranking points, he succeeded in securing the second seed from behind by defeating South Korea. At the moment of confirming the championship with a backhand drive and a thrilling game point, Harimoto raised two fingers of his right hand and marked the number two. Harimoto, Hayata, and the coaching staff of the bench embraced warmly and celebrated the second seed at the Paris Olympics, which was recaptured after a long struggle.

Photo provided by Ahn Sung-ho, a monthly tabloid reporter

Ahead of the Paris Olympics, the match between Korea and Japan, the second seed in mixed doubles, was hot. Japan's Mizutani Jun-Ito Mimazo won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and the non-national team is hoping to win the gold medal against China. Securing the No. 2 seed was an absolute challenge for Korea to advance to the finals. Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon gained an advantage by beating Japan in the semifinals of Singapore's Smash and the final of WTT Contender Rio in April, but the mistake of eliminating the Saudi Smash round of 16 in May, when the most points were given, was painful. Japan, which had been relegated to the third seed, recently won three consecutive WTT Zagreb, Slovenia and Tunisia. Ahead of the last Bangkok competition, South Korea was in second place (4110 points) and Japan was in third place (3900 points), and South Korea maintained a close advantage by 210 points. However, Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon were beaten by Thailand's ambush group in the quarterfinals (11-77-111 11-19-19-19-19-19-11), and the crisis arrived. Japan's Harimoto-Hayatazo won four consecutive games and succeeded in turning it over at the last minute. Even if Japan won, if South Korea had advanced to the semifinals or higher, it would have been possible to defend the No. 2 seed. The world ranking of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is calculated based on the total score of the eight competitions with the highest performance in the past year. Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon maintained the final ranking point of 4110 points, and Japan took the second seed of their dreams, leading Japan by 4,220 points and 110 points over South Korea. Shin-Imjo has constantly challenged all tournaments around the world and the Nigeria tournament in Africa with one of the second seed goals. The Japanese group did not lose its concentration by winning all the competitions to be won from May to June, and the Korean group made a mistake in a big competition and a place to catch. That's where the difference of 110 points came from.

Japanese media and table tennis fans are excited about the No. 2 seed 'Turning the tables' She aspires to win two consecutive Olympics in this event. Japanese media such as Mainichi 'Harimoto-Hayata Hina Gold Medal Flag! The Paris Olympics is vowing to win its second consecutive title in the mixed doubles at the Paris Olympics with titles such as 'As a match against China, the absolute powerhouse'. 'Hari-Moto - Fans' expectations for Hayatazo are at their peakWhile ', 'Harimoto-Hayatazo won four consecutive tournaments. A month ago, it was far behind the world's second-largest Korean team, but it is likely to be the second seed at the Paris Olympics with an amazing chase. 'The big advantage is that if you win the second seed, you can avoid a match against the Chinese team until the final round.'"

Japanese table tennis fans' support and expectations for the group are pouring in.

Meanwhile, the WTT Star Contender Bangkok Games, which took place 20 days before the Paris Olympics, was a Japanese table tennis festival. Harimoto defeated Im Jong-hoon in the quarterfinals 'World No. 10' Harimoto defeated Chinese ace Linga Oyuan 4-0 in the men's singles final, while Ito Mima, who beat Seo Hyo-won to reach the final, beat Shin Yu-bin and beat Honoka Hashimoto, who reached the final, 4-2 to win. In the men's doubles, Harimoto and Matsushima Sorajo beat Taiwan's Chuang Qiyuan-Kao Chengjuizo 3-2 to win, and in the women's doubles, Hashimoto Honoka and Sato Hitomizo beat Shin Yu-bin and Jeon Ji-hee-jo 3-1 to win all five events.

sky4us@sportschosun.com

The joy of Ilharimoto, who took away Shin Yu-bin's dream of seed No. 2 "Ilpan, the highest expectation of the Paris Olympics"

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