Controversy Sparks! Former Chinese Table Tennis Star Defends Tomokazu Harimoto: “He Treated Me to Barbecue — A Truly Respectable Person!”

On October 26 (Beijing time), former Chinese national table tennis star Zhou Yu sparked heated discussion after publicly defending Japanese ace Tomokazu Harimoto during a livestream.

Tomokazu Harimoto, whose parents are both Chinese, speaks fluent Mandarin — even Sichuan dialect. Despite this, his behavior during past tournaments has often been questioned by fans. In the Yokohama Champions final against Wang Chuqin, his on-court demeanor drew criticism, and after defeating Liang Jingkun at the Asian Championships, his exaggerated celebration was viewed by many as provocative.

The controversy intensified during the Asian Championships award ceremony, when Harimoto and his Japanese teammates were seen whispering to each other as China’s national anthem played. Many Chinese fans felt this was disrespectful — both to the opponents and to China.

However, Zhou Yu offered a different perspective. He described Harimoto as a player with excellent sportsmanship and strong character, someone truly worthy of respect. “When I played for the same team as Harimoto in Japan’s T-League, he treated me to barbecue several times,” Zhou recalled. “During our first stage, we achieved five consecutive wins, and that night he even took a taxi to send me back to the hotel. I still remember the first meal clearly — he treated the entire team. I usually like to treat others too, but he probably did it even more often.”

Zhou went on to explain that the reality of athletes’ relationships is often misunderstood. “Players aren’t as complicated as people think,” he said. “A lot of tension comes from media narratives — sometimes both sides’ media say things that serve their own interests. But in truth, most athletes are good people at heart.”

The remarks quickly divided public opinion. Some netizens commented, “Zhou Yu is just being polite after accepting his hospitality,” while others argued, “Whatever he’s like in private doesn’t matter — what counts is how he behaves during matches and in public toward China.”