Asian Games Day 6: Japan Stuns China in Table Tennis

The host nation also won gold in women’s breaststroke, silver in women’s badminton and further medals in rowing, canoeing and gymnastics as competition intensified across more than two dozen sports.

The victory over China at Sky Hall Toyota was one of the biggest achievements of Japan’s Asian Games campaign, ending China’s run of eight consecutive men’s team titles. Tomokazu Harimoto and Sora Matsushima led Japan to victory in a dramatic five-match contest, securing the country’s first gold in the event since the 1966 Bangkok Games.

Japan had reached the final for the first time in 44 years after defeating South Korea 3-0 in the semifinals on September 23. The meeting with China also offered an opportunity to reverse the result of May’s World Team Table Tennis Championships, when Japan had lost 3-0 to the Chinese.

The final began with 19-year-old Matsushima facing world No. 1 Wang Chuqin. Matsushima took the opening two games with aggressive attacking play and powerful backhands, but Wang recovered to force a deciding fifth game. Despite another determined effort from the Japanese teenager, Wang prevailed to give China the opening point.

Harimoto then leveled the contest by defeating 19-year-old Wen Ruibo in four games. Shunsuke Togami faced former world No. 1 Lin Shidong in the third match and lost in four games, leaving Japan trailing 2-1 and needing victories in both remaining matches.

Harimoto returned to face Wang in the fourth match, with the championship at stake. He recovered from an early deficit to take the opening game 11-7 and dominated the second 11-4 before resisting Wang’s attempt to mount a comeback in the third. His straight-games victory brought Japan level at 2-2 and set up a deciding match between Matsushima and Wen.

Matsushima, who had narrowly lost the opening contest, took the first game 11-7 before Wen leveled the match. The Japanese teenager regained control in the third, winning 11-6, and carried that momentum into the fourth to secure the championship.

The victory sparked celebrations among the Japanese players and spectators, with Harimoto describing the result as the achievement of a goal he had pursued for more than a decade.

The result also highlighted Japan’s growing strength in men’s table tennis. Harimoto, Matsushima and Togami have emerged as a combination capable of challenging China’s leading players, while the home victory provided a significant achievement for a Japanese team that had repeatedly fallen short against its strongest Asian rival.

Japan’s women’s table tennis team also reached the final against China after defeating South Korea 3-0 in the semifinals. The women’s squad, featuring Hina Hayata and Miwa Harimoto, was seeking its first Asian Games team gold since 1966.

In the women’s doubles competition, Hayata and Harimoto advanced to the next round with a straight-games victory over Thailand’s Krapassorn Visitviriyakul and Passaraporn Wonglakorn.

The Japanese pair won 11-2, 13-11, 11-9, overcoming a more competitive second game before Harimoto finished the match with an aggressive forehand. Their victory followed their rise to No. 1 in the world doubles rankings after winning the Europe Smash tournament in August.

Miyu Nagasaki and Sakura Yokoi’s participation was complemented by Japan’s other doubles pairing of Nagasaki and Satsuki Odo’s teammate Hana Goda?

The other Japanese women’s doubles pair, Miyu Nagasaki and Yuna Ojio, also advanced in the tournament, giving Japan multiple medal opportunities in the individual competitions.

In swimming, Ohashi produced a historic performance at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, winning the men’s 200-meter breaststroke in 2 minutes, 4.83 seconds to break the world record by 0.65 seconds.

The 17-year-old surpassed the previous record of 2:05.48 set by China’s Qin Haiyang in 2023. Ohashi had already shared gold in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke on September 21, making him a double Asian Games champion.

Ohashi’s achievement was particularly significant because he is still a high school student. His victory established him as one of Japan’s leading young swimming prospects and provided the home crowd with another memorable performance following Japan’s series of successes in the pool.

Japan added a second swimming gold through 20-year-old Kotomi Kato in the women’s 200-meter breaststroke.

Kato entered the final after taking bronze in the 100-meter event the previous day. She was second at the 150-meter turn but produced a powerful final length to overtake her rivals and win in 2:22.57.

Veteran Satomi Suzuki, who had won silver in the 100-meter breaststroke, finished fourth in the 200-meter final.

Japan also collected silver in the men’s 50-meter butterfly through Shoon Mitsunaga, who had won the 100-meter butterfly in a Japanese record of 50.56 seconds on September 23. Mitsunaga made a strong start and remained in contention throughout the shorter race but narrowly missed completing a butterfly double.

Kaito Tabuchi secured another silver in the men’s 800-meter freestyle, adding to the bronze he had already won in the 1,500 meters. Kazushi Imafuku, who took silver in the longer event, finished fourth over 800 meters.

Japan collected six swimming medals on September 24, including two golds, taking the team’s competition total to 31 medals: six gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze.

Badminton delivered another silver medal as Japan’s women’s team lost to China in the final at Ichinomiya City General Gymnasium.

The Japanese team had reached the championship match after defeating India 3-1 in the quarterfinals and advancing through the semifinals, guaranteeing a medal for the fourth consecutive Asian Games.

Former world champion Akane Yamaguchi led Japan’s challenge against China, but the Chinese team prevailed to claim the title and prevent Japan from recapturing the gold it won in 2018.

The result nevertheless marked another strong team performance for Japanese women’s badminton, with rising star Tomoka Miyazaki gaining valuable experience alongside established international players.

Japan’s rowing team also enjoyed a successful morning at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course in Gifu Prefecture, winning three bronze medals despite the disruption caused by heavy rain earlier in the week.

Tatsuya Sakurama took bronze in the men’s single sculls, while Tomoka Yonezawa and Chia Tomita finished third in the women’s lightweight double sculls.

All 10 Japanese boats had reached their respective A finals after completing qualifying races on September 23. Heavy rain before the competition had forced organizers to compress the original five-day rowing schedule into just two days.

The results gave Japan medals in three events and demonstrated the team’s ability to compete despite the unusually demanding schedule.

Canoe sprint supplied another bronze medal when Japan finished third in the men’s K4 500 meters at Miyoshi Pond in Aichi Prefecture.

The Japanese crew comprised Masaya Tanaka, Akio Inoue, Ryuji Matsushiro and Yuzuru Sakai. Their podium finish came as canoe sprint competition began to distribute medals across several disciplines, with additional Japanese competitors preparing for their races later in the Games.

Artistic gymnastics moved into its apparatus finals after Japan had taken silver in both the men’s and women’s team competitions on September 23.

Shoma Tsukiyama secured bronze in the men’s floor exercise with 14.566 points, becoming the first Japanese gymnast to reach the Asian Games podium in the event in 12 years.

Tsukiyama, 23, had qualified fourth with 14.166 points but improved significantly in the final. He completed his routine with a controlled landing on his final tumbling pass and celebrated after receiving his score.

The Philippines’ Carlos Yulo won gold with 14.666 points, while Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi took silver with 14.600. Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto finished sixth with 13.500.

The result added to Japan’s gymnastics medal collection following Shinnosuke Oka’s silver and Hashimoto’s bronze in the men’s individual all-around, Aiko Sugihara’s gold in the women’s all-around and silver medals in both team events.

The remaining apparatus finals on September 25 will offer Japan further opportunities, with Oka and Hashimoto among the country’s leading contenders.

Athletics also expanded its program on September 24, bringing several of Japan’s leading track and field athletes into competition at Mizuho Park in Nagoya.

The men’s and women’s 100-meter heats featured Japanese sprinters seeking places in the September 25 finals. Shuhei Tada and Yuki Koike were entered in the men’s competition, while Midori Mikase and Fuuka Ido-Abigail represented Japan in the women’s event.

Nozomi Tanaka, one of Japan’s most prominent middle-distance runners, entered the women’s 10,000 meters as the first of her three planned Asian Games events.

The day’s program also included the women’s triple jump, men’s discus, mixed 4×400-meter relay and the opening events of the women’s heptathlon.

The athletics competition follows Japan’s silver medal in the men’s half-marathon race walk on September 23, when two-time world champion Toshikazu Yamanishi finished second behind China’s Shi Shengji.

Cricket brought another important fixture for Japan, with the men’s national team beginning its Asian Games campaign against Afghanistan on September 24.

The match followed Japan’s historic encounter with India at Sano International Cricket Ground on September 22, when the hosts pushed the reigning T20 world champions to the final delivery before losing by just two runs in a rain-shortened five-over match.

Japan’s participation in the Asian Games forms part of a broader effort to develop cricket nationally, with Sano emerging as the principal center of the sport in the country.

The tournament offers Japan valuable international competition against established cricket nations as the sport prepares to return to the Olympic program at Los Angeles in 2028.

Women’s basketball also entered the knockout stages, with Japan contesting its quarterfinal on September 24 after completing the preliminary round unbeaten.

Japan had defeated Hong Kong 114-37, Kazakhstan 88-23 and the Philippines 89-67 to finish first in its group. Miyu Okamoto scored 19 points against the Philippines, converting five of seven attempts from three-point range.

The Japanese team is seeking its first Asian Games women’s basketball gold since 1998.

Meanwhile, the host nation’s participation continued across fencing, shooting, mountain biking, skateboarding, squash, boxing, wushu, beach volleyball, sepaktakraw, kabaddi, hockey and water polo.

Japan’s women’s water polo team faced China in its final round-robin match on September 24 after overwhelming Uzbekistan 27-10 the previous day.

The men’s hockey team was scheduled to meet Indonesia, while Japan’s women’s and men’s 3×3 basketball teams continued their knockout-stage campaigns.

September 25 will bring another extensive schedule, with swimming, athletics, gymnastics, shooting and fencing offering medals. Japan’s baseball team will also begin the Super Round after winning all three preliminary matches against China, Palestine and the Philippines.

The men’s soccer team returns to action in its quarterfinal against North Korea on September 26, while the women’s team faces its own quarterfinal on September 25 after completing the group stage with three victories.

Japan’s Day 6 campaign was distinguished by the extraordinary achievements of its young athletes. Matsushima, 19, delivered the decisive victory against China in table tennis, while Ohashi, 17, broke a world record in swimming and secured his second gold medal of the Games.

Together with Kato’s breaststroke victory and medals across badminton, rowing, canoeing and gymnastics, the performances underscored the breadth of Japan’s challenge as the Asian Games approached their second weekend.

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