Sensational junior high school student Tomokazu Harimoto is now setting his sights on playing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after becoming the youngest quarterfinalist ever at the recent world table tennis championships.
Amazed at the number of media people surrounding him, the 13-year-old said he had earned confidence after beating Jun Mizutani, the bronze medalist in men's singles at the Rio Olympics last summer, en route to advancing to the men's singles quarterfinals earlier this month in Dusseldorf, Germany.
"The win over Mizutani was the happiest moment in my life," Harimoto said in a news conference at Narita Airport on Wednesday. "I almost reached a medal at the worlds. I think I improved a lot, especially in my mental aspect. I was able to keep going aggressively even against the world's top rankers.
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