
“For a while, my country was easily beaten by China. There was a lot of ‘no way’ perception among the fans, and it was good to break that.” (Zhang Wujin)
The ‘table tennis powerhouse’ China was once pushed to the brink. The men’s national table tennis team put on a “lost but fought” show, showing hope for the upcoming Olympics.
The world’s third-ranked men’s table tennis team, consisting of Jang Woo-jin (29), Lim Jong-hoon (27-Korea Exchange), Lee Sang-soo (34-Samsung Life Insurance), Park Kyu-hyun (19-Mirae Asset Securities) and Ahn Jae-hyun (25-Korea Exchange), lost to world No. 1 China with a match score of 2-3 (3-1 0-3 3-2 0-3 0-3) in the semifinals of the men’s main draw tournament at the BNK Busan Bank 2024 Busan World Table Tennis Championships at Bexco Choppy Hall (Venue 1) in Haeundae-gu, Busan, Korea, at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
The Koreans got off to an unexpectedly crisp start in the first match, with ace Jang Woo-jin defeating China’s Wang Chuqin in straight sets 3-1. Although Lim Jong-hoon faltered with a 0-3 loss to world number one Fan Zhendong, Lee Sang-soo showed hope with a 3-2 win in a close full set at third singles. However, the match was tied in the fourth set when Jang Woo-jin lost to Fan Zhendong, and even Lim Jong-hoon, who was the last hopeful, was unable to pull off the upset.
Table tennis’ most dominant nation, China, holds the top five men’s individual world rankings. In this tournament, #1 Fan Zhendong, #2 Wang Chuqin, and #3 Ma Rong dominated the competition. They won all four of their group matches in straight sets and only dropped two sets, let alone a match. After a perfect round of 16 victory over Romania, the Chinese swept their quarterfinal match against Japan, a tricky opponent, 3-1 in all three games to complete a 3-0 sweep.
However, it was South Korea who inflicted the first defeat on China, as Jang Woo-jin won his first match against the Chinese. Lee Sang-soo followed suit, taking the next three games and even coming close to winning the match. Although the Chinese got back on track in the final stages, dropping both the fourth and fifth singles, it was a hard-fought match.
Even the ‘table tennis legends’ who watched the match were impressed. Yoo Seung-min, 42, president of the Korea Table Tennis Association and co-organizer of the tournament, said, “It reminded me of the 2001 Osaka Games (Kim Taek-soo, Oh Sang-sang and Yoo Seung-min). Kim Taek-soo, the current secretary-general of the KTA, sent chills down China’s spine (with a deuce in the final). (Today’s match) was the first time China has played against any team in the world in more than 20 years. It gave me goosebumps,” said Hyun Jeong-hwa, 55, co-chairman of the tournament, adding, “I have never seen such a tight match against China, not only against us, but against all the players in the world, even if I think back to 10 years ago.”
Coach Joo Se-hyuk (44) and his players also saw hope in the disappointment. “Our players have a strong willpower, so I personally expected a lot from them, but I didn’t expect them to play so well,” said coach Joo at the post-match press conference. “Regardless of their skills or performance, they played well as a team with a strong team spirit.”
“We had some kind of kinks after losing to China recently, but first of all, I don’t feel bad because I think we have solved them,” said Zhang Wujin, who won the first match. “For a while, we tended to lose to China too easily, so I think many fans and people had a strong image of ‘no more,’ but it was good to break that negative perception,” he said. Lim Jong-hoon, who had his head down in the press conference, said, “My brothers were so good to me and gave me a lot of support, so I was encouraged. It’s more of a waste than a disappointment. Next time, I’ll do a little better and prepare well so that I can finish with a good feeling and not waste it like today.”
The players expressed their gratitude to the fans. Chinese fans have always been a big part of the crowd at world-class table tennis events, and on this day, the Bexco Choppy Hall, where the match was held, was filled with supporters’ signs with the Oh Sung Hong flag and Chinese phrases, as well as chants such as “Pisheng” (must win) and “Chaiyi” (加油). But the Korean fans were just as enthusiastic, chanting “Dae~Korea” and chanting their names whenever the players made a good play.
“The fans were very supportive, and it would have been difficult to play without them,” said veteran Lee Sang-soo, adding, “I think we will have better results if we continue 바카라사이트 to play like this.” “We are strong in home games, such as the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and the 2002 Busan Asian Games,” said Joo, who thanked the fans for their interest, prayers, and support.
Now that the Games are over, the team will disband. They will then begin preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which will take place in late July. The team that qualified by finishing in the quarterfinals of this event will decide who will compete after June 18th. Doubles will also be a factor in the Olympic team competition.
“Before (the selection), we need to develop all the candidates and train them well because we don’t know who will be in the top three, so we have to think about the doubles combination,” said Joo. “We haven’t won a medal in table tennis in two consecutive Olympics, so it’s our last mission to win a medal,” he said.
“I don’t have anything set in stone for the Olympics. We are all good teammates, but I think we are competitors. If we continue to compete in big competitions, we can improve our skills through goodwill competition and win medals no matter who goes out.”
Still, the tournament was a confidence booster. “When I took over in 2022, I realized that Korean athletes had lost confidence after Tokyo 2020. I focused a lot on instilling confidence in them,” he said. With the addition of veteran players, the team’s performance has sent a message that it can beat anyone.
“It gave me goosebumps to see China not falter when our players were playing so well,” Yu said. But there are definitely gaps. The challenge is to find those gaps and get better. I will have a deep discussion with the coaching staff on how to dig into the gaps,” he said of the challenges ahead.