Harimoto took the first two games 11-7, 11-9, but dropped the next three 10-12, 9-11, 7-11. From the quarterfinals onward, players needed to win four games to advance, compared to three in earlier rounds. This gave Japan's top-ranked player a chance to recover. He won the final two games 11-5 and 11-6, reaching his first Smash final.

20-year-old Lin Shidong is currently the world's number one Chinese player. However, before this match, he had only won once in five encounters against Harimoto. Lin lost to Harimoto in the Asian Championships final and the 2024 WTT Finals semifinal, both with a score of 3-4.

Lin Shidong during his semifinal loss to Harimoto at the US Smash table tennis tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on the evening of 12/7/2025. Photo: *JFDaily*

The 22-year-old Harimoto (whose Chinese name is Zhang Zhihe) was born to Chinese parents who settled in Japan in 1998. At age 11, Harimoto became a Japanese citizen and has represented Japan ever since. In 12/2018, he became the youngest-ever winner of the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals at the age of 15 years and 172 days. Harimoto is currently ranked fourth in the world.

In the other semifinal, world number two Wang Chuqin defeated sixth-seeded Frenchman Felix LeBrun, also by a score of 4-3. Wang took the lead three times, only to have LeBrun level the score each time. In the final game, the Chinese star won 11-9.

Harimoto has faced Wang 13 times previously, winning only twice. Their most recent encounter was in the semifinals of the WTT Champions in Chongqing, China, which Wang won 4-1.

The US Smash final between Harimoto and Wang will take place at 9 a.m. Monday, 14/7, Hanoi time.

The women's singles final between 21-year-old Chinese player Chen Yi and 30-year-old Macau player Zhu Yuling will take place at 8 a.m. tomorrow, 14/7.

The US Smash is one of the top four tournaments in the WTT Tour, alongside events in China, Singapore, and Europe. Chinese media have dubbed these tournaments the "Grand Slams" of table tennis. This year's tournament runs from 3/7 to 13/7, with the main draw beginning on 6/7, featuring a 64-player knockout format in both men's and women's singles.

Hoang An