In the WTT Champions Yokohama 2026 Women's Singles second round of table tennis, world No. 3 Miwa Harimoto achieved a come-from-behind victory against China's Chen Yi (Chen Yi), ranked 12th, but discontent over the umpire's ruling has risen in China.

In the match on the 6th, Harimoto lost the first two games in a row, putting her in a difficult position, but she took back the third game 11-5 and also seized the fourth game, which went to deuce, regaining momentum. She also pushed through the final fifth game 11-5, winning with a game count of 3-2. She advanced to the quarterfinals.

However, regarding this match, a surge of dissatisfaction with the umpire's ruling has erupted in China. An article published on the portal site Sohu was titled 'Unexpected comeback from a 2-0 lead, Chen Yi's regret due to unfair ruling and injury,' and reported the cause of defeat as follows:

'In terms of skill, Chen Yi was superior, but an old injury from her shoulder to her neck recurred during the match, and unreasonable rulings also compounded the situation.'

'(Chen Yi) took the first and second games, but amid the fierce back-and-forth, her old injury suddenly worsened, affecting her play. Although she applied for a medical timeout (MTO) for treatment in accordance with the rules, it was rejected by the umpire, and she had no choice but to continue the match enduring the pain. This unreasonable ruling significantly altered the flow of the match.'

In the problematic scene, Chen Yi requested a medical timeout, but tournament officials visited the Chinese bench and explained something. When it was ultimately rejected, the commentators for the Chinese TV station also appeared bewildered, saying, 'Why... why isn't it allowed?' and 'This ruling disregards the player's health and goes against humanitarian principles.'

On Chinese social media, while voices of dissatisfaction with the ruling, such as 'It's truly unfair,' arose, others calmly pointed out that 'a medical timeout must be for a sudden new injury that occurred during the match, and pre-existing old injuries are often not eligible' and 'so-called medical timeouts sometimes serve as an excuse for players to take a temporary break or consult on strategy. If a player is truly injured, they should retire from the match. That is what fairness means to the opposing player.' (Translation/Editing by Kitada)