China vs Japan Final Showdown Is Set! Japan Stuns Germany 8–3 to Reach the Final with a Historic Team Record as Tomokazu Harimoto Sits Out

On December 7 (Beijing time), Japan booked their place in the final of the Chengdu Mixed Team World Cup with a commanding 8–3 victory over Germany in the semifinals, setting a new best-ever result for the Japanese team in the history of the mixed team event. The decisive fourth and final match was the men’s doubles showdown, where Hiroto Shinozuka and Shunsuke Togami delivered the winning blow with a 2–0 victory over Germany’s Dang Qiu and Benedikt Duda.

Across the first three matches before the decisive doubles, the scores unfolded as follows:
In the opening match, Franziska/Kaufmann fell 0–3 to Shinozuka/ Ito Mima (8–11, 5–11, 6–11).
In the second match, Sabine Winter lost 1–2 to Miwa Harimoto (9–11, 10–12, 12–10).
In the third match, Dang Qiu earned Germany’s only win with a 2–1 victory over Terukazu Matsushima (12–10, 11–6, 8–11).

With Dang Qiu’s win accounting for Germany’s only two points, Japan had already built a commanding 6–3 overall lead. This meant that one more win—worth two points—would be enough to seal Japan’s spot in the final.

One of the biggest surprises of the semifinals was Japan’s decision to leave their 22-year-old top star Tomokazu Harimoto out of the lineup entirely. Harimoto struggled badly in the final match of the second stage, suffering consecutive defeats in both singles and doubles, costing the team a total of six points and playing a major role in Japan’s dramatic 7–8 loss to France. Having also previously lost 1–2 to Dang Qiu in singles, Harimoto was benched for this crucial semifinal, with Togami stepping in instead.

In the first game of the decisive men’s doubles, Togami and Shinozuka took an early 2–0 lead. Although Duda and Dang Qiu narrowed the gap to 2–3, the Japanese pair maintained a slim advantage throughout. They extended the gap to 6–4, then to 8–5, and after reaching 9–6, they closed out the game decisively at 11–8.

The second game saw a tighter start at 2–2, but Togami and Shinozuka quickly shifted into top gear, pulling ahead to 6–3 and then 7–3. Germany trailed 4–8 before Japan surged to match point at 10–4. Germany called a timeout in a final attempt to slow the momentum, but it proved ineffective. The Japanese duo sealed the match emphatically at 11–4.

With this victory, Japan has officially advanced to the final and recorded the best mixed team result in its history. After finishing third in 2023 and fifth in 2024, this marks the team’s first-ever appearance in the top two. For Tomokazu Harimoto, however, the semifinal benching stands out as one of the most dramatic and painful moments of the tournament.