Asian Games, Event Introduction of Table Tennis
The goal of ‘connecting the gold vein’ that has been cut off for 21 years…
Doubles gold medal challenge with Shin Yu-bin
‘Connect the gold vein that has been cut off for 21 years!’
This is the motto of the Korean table tennis team challenging the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Korea was once considered the only ‘counterhorse’ to keep China in check, the ‘world’s strongest’.
Athens Olympics
At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Yoo Seung-min won the men’s singles gold medal and dreamed of a second heyday.
But that was it.
While China remained strong, other East Asian powers,
such as Japan and Taiwan, made rapid progress. 먹튀검증
South Korea, which had been at a standstill, is now in a difficult position to be called ‘Asia’s second player’.
This trend is revealed in the Asian Games medal report card.
Korean Table Tennis
The gold medal march of Korean table tennis, which had been held five times in a row
from the 1986 Seoul Games to the 2002 Busan Games, ended at the 2006 Doha Games.
Since then, no Korean player has won a gold medal at the Asian Games.
The goal of the national team is to connect the ‘gold vein’ that has been cut off
for 21 years at least in this Hangzhou tournament.
National Team
Male: Jang Woo-jin, Oh Jun-seong (Mirae Asset Securities),
Lim Jong-hun, Ahn Jae-hyeon (Korea Exchange) Park Kang-hyeon (Korea Water Resources Corporation),
female Shin Yu-bin, Lee Eun-hye (Korean Air),
Jeon Ji-hee (Mirae Asset Securities), Seo Hyo-won (Korea Horse Association),
Yang Ha-eun (POSCO) International), mixed doubles and women’s doubles are the strategic events to win the gold medal.
Shin Yu-bin
Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air), who has grown from a ‘prodigy’ to an ‘ace’,
is at the center of the national team’s doubles strategy.
Yubin Shin is expected to team up with Jeon Ji-hee (POSCO International)
in women’s doubles and Lim Jong-hoon (Korea Exchange) in men’s doubles.
Shin Yu-bin and Jeon Ji-hee are world No. 1 in women’s doubles
by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
World Championships
At the World Championships in Durban in May of this year,
she reached the women’s doubles final for the first time in 36 years as a Korean player and won a silver medal.
The Shin Yu-bin-Lim Jong-hun pair is ranked third in the world rankings in mixed doubles.
Paris Olympics
These combinations, strategically nurtured by Korean table tennis for the 2024 Paris Olympics,
have consistently produced good results on the international stage such as World Table Tennis (WTT).
In addition, the men’s team event, which won silver medals seven times in a row
until the 2018 Jakarta and Palembang Games,
is also an event worth looking forward to.
In all seven men’s team finals, Korea lost to China and had to be content with second place.
This time, China will form a national team
with the best of both men and women to conquer the podium.
Top 10 Single Ranking
Top 10 in world singles rankings, including “The Dragon” Ma Lung (3rd),
one of the best table tennis players of all time, Pan Zhendong (1st),
Wang Chuqin (2nd), Lin Gaoyuan (7th), and Liang Jinkun (6th)
The men’s national team was composed of only the top players.
Women’s National Team
The women’s national team went one step further and consisted of players
ranked 1st to 5th in the world singles rankings.
Sun Yingsha (1st), Chen Myeong (2nd), Chen Xingtung (3rd),
Wang Yidi (4th), Wang Manyu (5th) stand in front of Hangzhou’s “Home Table”.
It is a combination worthy of being called the ‘Avengers’ of women’s table tennis.
China is challenging to sweep seven gold medals in all events in two consecutive competitions.
The roster of the Japanese national team,
which emerged as a second player after bringing down Korea,
also included a large number of strong players.
Tokyo Olympics
In the men’s national team, ‘signboard’ Tomokazu Harimoto (4th place),
who won the bronze medal in the team event at the Tokyo Olympics and silver medal
in the mixed doubles at the Durban World Championships,
Sunsuke Dogami (43rd place), who won two gold medals
at the 2021 Asian Championships in Doha, stand out.
The women’s national team roster included top ranked players from their country,
including Hina Hayata (#7), Miyu Hirano (#14), Miwa Harimoto (#17),
Miyu Kihara (#23) and Miyu Nagasaki (#30).
It is somewhat surprising that Mima Ito (8th place),
who has been active as an ace of Japanese women’s table tennis for a long time,
was eliminated from the selection round.
The Pyeongchang Asian Table Tennis Championships,
which will be held at the Pyeongchang Dome for 8 days from September 3 to 10,
is a competition in the nature of a ‘prelude’ that can predict the Asian Games.