Chinese media critically reported on Tomokazu Harimoto's remark after he won the gold medal in the table tennis men's team event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, but Chinese netizens are saying "the remark is correct."

In the final held on the 24th, Japan's Sora Matsushima narrowly lost 2-3 to world No. 1 Wang Chuqin (Wang Chu-qin) in the first match. However, in the second match, Tomokazu Harimoto decisively defeated Wen Ruibo (Wen Ruibo) 3-1. In the third match, Shunsuke Togami lost 1-3 to Lin Shidong (Lin Shi-dong), but in the fourth match, Harimoto defeated Wang in straight sets. Then, in the fifth match, Matsushima defeated Wen 3-1, securing Japan's first gold medal in the event in 60 years.

After the match, Harimoto stated in an interview, "Of course, I'm happy we won, but I think what truly matters most is that Japan has surpassed China and that Japan won the gold medal." Chinese media outlet Dahe Daily excerpted the phrase "Japan has surpassed China" and reported on it critically, calling it "boasting" (making big statements). On social media, "Tomokazu Harimoto boasts that Japan has already surpassed China" became a hot topic.

On the other hand, Chinese net users posted comments such as: "I think what Harimoto said is correct (lol)," "He just spoke the truth," "Indeed (Japan) has surpassed (China)," "Because (Japan) won," "Otherwise, what? Do you want to say, 'Japan shows strong signs of fatigue after winning gold, while China narrowly lost but has hopes for the future'?", "Since Japan won this time, let's not say anything," and "It's only natural for the winner to have the right to speak. Just summarize and prepare to win the next tournament." (Translation and Editing: Kitada)