FULL MATCH - Tomokazu Harimoto vs Huang Youzheng - Asian Cup 2025

I think I know how to do it. I heard it at the beginning of the game, so I think I can do it. If not, I'll do it. Come on! shy about yelling it to all who can hear looks at his back as if it's perhaps faulty the youngster holding his own so far tied at eight that big release of emotion tells you that Harimoto's gone ahead at an important time one reels it back in much to the delight of the and absolutely slapped that one home 10-10 really into this one has himself a game point at 1110 that's the game of the day so far I just want to go to extra points must win by two tier points at this stage quicker than the eye it seems game point one Harimoto did particularly well he was all tied up pushed down very low with his legs splayed apart still managed to get the ball back in such a way that one couldn't return tied at 12 one again this is not it and this crowd absolutely loved that what an opener Harimoto warmed to the task we heard that victorious yell of his plenty of times thereafter to eventually succumb to performance by the Chinese player You can add the last one at the end. We already stopped at the first one. There's only that one, so you can use the last one. I don't like that, I don't like using the long serve. I think you can change the serve a little. But the 6-5 was a good chance, but it was too scary. Yeah, that's right. That's not a good one. Play of the time. OK. Let's go. Second game, Lovell. Lovell. Well, it's a great start for Hwan. A game to the good. Two love-ups here in the second. Harimoto really hasn't quite got a handle on this one yet, has he? Tremendous speed from Harimoto. Hwan actually did well to direct that one back towards the table. Just a little too long. Big explosion from Harimoto. Gets a lot of approval. Oh, really wound up, didn't he? Moved his right shoulder, rolled it forward. Transforms the body weight from back to front. Hwan, though, has a two-point lead. Make that three. Good table tennis. Now the Chinese player is bringing this crowd to their feet. If he were to win this contest, and we are speaking too soon, it would be the first big upset on Table 1 and the continuation of what has been a wonderful day for Chinese table tennis. There's been plenty of those, mind you. Harimoto is having a bit of a struggle here. It's an uncomfortable watch for Japanese table tennis fans. To be fair, he had to deal with the net cord on that rally. 5-10. That was a very nice, again, snappy backhand looking for the corner. That's what did the damage, but five points adrift. Lose one of them back, but it's still game point one. Two-love lead. What a start for this young man. After two or three shots, it feels like he's trying to make a comeback. But now he's got to get back to the Chinese team. He's got to make that shot. And I believe that in the end, it's going to be a draw. Two home runs. After kicking the ball, it's basically a draw. You don't have to think about your own defense. No problem. It's a draw. You don't have to think about how fast it is. It's a draw. Come on! Tomokazu Harimoto finds himself in the unlikely position of being lufted down here. Is this where a storied comeback begins? Should we have more faith in Huang Yuzhen? The youngster's having a battle with the net in this game. And Harimoto races away into a four-love lead. Two serves to come from him. Huang just seems to have lost his mojo. I feel perhaps a timeout might be in order. Looks as if he doesn't have any answers in this game. He answered that question fairly well. Harimoto, having gone down by two games, is coming back in this third. It's something to really show for his efforts. This is the most dominant game of the three. And it's in his favor. 11-3, right back in this one. But he still has two games to win. The target for this young man is just the one. Players time! Plenty of words of advice. The Chinese youngster, who started so well, took advantage of the errors that this Japanese man was making with a give away early on in this contest. But he's now under the cosh. Lost that third game quite emphatically. And now needs to really put his foot down. Huang to serve. At 1-2, Lovell. Tied at two. Two serves to come from Huang, who needs this game to take the match. Do you get the feeling, as I do, that Harimoto is edging his way back into this? I think he does. Juggles across. Huang read the situation very well. Just got an early contact on that. Enough for Harimoto to return into the net. Harimoto tying Huang up on that occasion. Drilling that ball into his body. Packing him up. Top hand speed. Harimoto not prepared for that at all. Timeout Japan, I think. Confirmed. We resume then at 6-4 in Harimoto's favour. The tie of this first session. Without question. It's been an undulating story. And that is far from concluded. Tied at six in this fourth game. Huang leading by 2-1. It's exhilarating stuff. Tough to hide your body language in the sport of table tennis. Protagonists are in view all the time. And you'd assess that of the two, it's Harimoto who has the most positive stature at the moment, despite losing that point. Huang is hanging in there. Harimoto up the pace and Huang responded. Haven't heard the Harimoto yell for a little while. That one serenades us into his 9-8 lead. That one serenades us into a 10-8 lead. Game point to tie the contest. Off the net cord and Huang comes to a point behind. We have a second game that goes to extra points. We will. Harimoto's backhand into the net. Fourth game that he has really looked like winning.