Miwa Harimoto

Miwa Harimoto was born Zhang Meihe^[a] in Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture. Her father, Yu Harimoto (born Zhang Yu)^[b], and mother, Rin Harimoto (born Zhang Ling)^[c] are both former professional table tennis players from Sichuan, China. Rin Harimoto, at the peak of her career, represented the Chinese national team at the 1995 World Table Tennis Championships in Tianjin.^[7] Miwa's parents moved from China to Japan in 1998.^[8] In 2014, at the age of five, Miwa became a Japanese citizen alongside her family and changed her surname to Harimoto.^[9] Miwa's older brother Tomokazu Harimoto is also a table tennis player.^[10]

She won the 2021 Youth Championships in U-15 singles, women's doubles, mixed doubles, and team events. She remained undefeated throughout.^[11]

At the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, she won two medals. She was the third player on the Japanese team, losing in the final against China. With Miyuu Kihara, they notably eliminated the Chinese pair Wang Manyu/Sun Yingsha in the quarter-final. They finally brought home a bronze medal.^[12][13]

In 2024, Harimoto was picked for the Japanese national team as the third women's team event member at the Summer Olympics.^[14] She won bronze in women's singles at the 2024 ITTF World Cup.^[15] In October, Harimoto defeated Wang Yidi and Sun Yingsha in the women's team final at the 2024 Asian Championships, helping the Japanese team clinch the women's team title.^[16]