Hopes and challenges coexisted.
Korea Table Tennis won two silver and one bronze medals at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) 2023 Individual World Championships in Durban, South Africa, from Nov. 20.
Medals were won in the men’s and women’s doubles. In the men’s doubles, Jang Woo-jin (Mirae Asset Securities) and Lim Jong-hoon (Korea Exchange) (3rd) won their second consecutive silver medal at the World Championships. Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung (Samsung Life) finished third. Jang Woo-jin and Lim Jong-hoon are the first Korean players to reach back-to-back World Championship finals in men’s doubles.
There was one silver medal in women’s doubles. Shin Yoo-bin (Korean Air) and Jeon Jeon-hee (Mirae Asset Securities) became the first Korean pair to reach the women’s doubles final in 36 years since Yang Young-ja and Hyun Jung-hwa won the title in New Delhi in 1987. The women’s singles and doubles as a whole have not won a silver medal or better in 30 years, since Hyun Jeong-hwa won in Gothenburg in 1993.
In doubles, they proved they can challenge China’s dominance. Korean table tennis won three medals at the World Championships for the first time in 20 years since 1993 (Gold 1-Bronze 2). Doubles paved the way for a comeback.
Lee Sang-soo is disappointed after losing in the singles event = Shinhwa/News
The singles results were disappointing, with all Korean table tennis players failing to make it past the round of 16.
Lim Jong-hoon was defeated in the round of 16 in the men’s singles by world No. 3 Ma Long (China). Jang Woo-jin was upset by world No. 180 Anders Lind (DEN) in the round of 16. In Zhang’s case, it was even more disappointing to lose to an opponent who was ranked below him.스포츠토토
There were also disappointments in the women’s singles. Shin Yubin crumbled in the round of 16 of the women’s singles, failing to win a single game against world No. 1 Sun Yingxia. Seo Hyo-won was defeated by world No. 10 Hina Hayata (JPN). Jeon Jeon-hee was upset by World No. 19 Miu Hirano (JPN) in the round of 32 in women’s singles, and Lee Shiong was stopped by World No. 5 Chen Xingtong (CHN) in the round of 64. They fell to China and Japan in straight sets.
In doubles, we saw the potential. But in singles, the challenges were clear. This is something that must be addressed if Korean table tennis is to make a comeback.