Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany claimed the men's singles crown at the ITTF World Tour India Open ©ITTF

Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany defeated Japan's future star Tomokazu Harimoto in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour India Open men's final in New Delhi.

Occupying the top seeded position in the draw, the Rio 2016 team bronze medallist beat Harimoto, the 13-year-old number 14 seed, in four straight games, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4, 14-12.

In doing so, the German stopped the Japanese prodigy from becoming the youngest player ever to win an ITTF World Tour men’s singles title.

The honour still belongs to China’s Yu Ziyang, who was 16 years and 30 days old when he won the ITTF World Tour Japan Open in Yokohama.

"I received so many messages from people who kept saying, this guy is 13 years old but don’t think about his age, think about your own game," said Ovtcharov.

"I have heard his age so many times in the last 24 hours.

"I felt a bit of a pressure but Harimoto is an amazing player for his age and I think he has a very, very bright future."

Japan’s Sakura Mori won the women’s singles title as she overcame fourth seed, Sweden’s Matilda Ekholm, in an epic seven game match.

Mori fell behind early on when Ekholm took the first 11-7.

The Japanese player then responded magnificently by taking the next three games 11-5, 11-8, 12-10.

Japan’s Sakura Mori won the women's singles title ©ITTF
Japan’s Sakura Mori won the women's singles title ©ITTF

Unfazed by going behind, the Swede recovered emphatically to win the fifth and sixth games 11-6, 11-8.

It was Mori that ultimately prevailed though as she took the decisive seventh game, 11-6.

Success for Sakura Mori meant that she left the Indian capital with two titles to her name after she also won the under-21 women’s singles event, beating Hong Kong’s Minnie Soo Wai Yam in the final.

Further Japanese success followed in the men's doubles as Masataka Morizono and Yuya Oshima, the top seeds, defeated the German pairing of Ruwen Filus and Ricardo Walther.

The Germans, seeded second, claimed the opening game 9-11 before the Asian duo took the next three 11-7, 11-6, 11-9.

Despite losing the women's singles there was some success for Ekholm on the final day of action as she teamed with Hungary’s Georgina Pota to win the women's doubles title.

The second seeds shocked tournament favourites Doo Hoi Kem and Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong 9-11, 11-3, 5-11, 14-12, 11-8 in a five game epic.