Korea ends table tennis World Championships in Busan with two tickets to Paris

Korea's Jang Woo-jin, back, plays in a 2024 World Team Table Tennis Championships men's team match against China's Wang Chuqin at BEXCO Convention Centre in Busan on Saturday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Team Korea ended their run at the 2024 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan with a bronze medal and two tickets to the Paris Olympics.

Both the Korean men's and women’s teams qualified for the Olympics after reaching the quarterfinals last week.

Hangzhou Asian Games silver medalists Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun competed alongside Lee Sang-su, Jang Woo-jin and Park Gyu-hyeon to take bronze in the men's tournament with a 3-2 semifinal loss to China on Saturday.

Chinese Taipei finished with the same after their 3-1 loss to France later in the day, as tournament rules stipulate that semifinal losers automatically win bronze.

Over in the women's tournament, Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalists Shin Yu-bin and Jeon Ji-hee competed alongside Lee Zi-on, Yoon Hyo-bin and Lee Eun-hye to reach the quarterfinals but failed to secure a medal after a 3-0 loss in their match against China on Thursday.

Shin and Jeon were the only ones to win gold in table tennis for Korea at the Asiad last year, topping the podium in women’s doubles.

This year marked the first time Korea played host to the International Table Tennis Foundation's Table Tennis World Championships since the inaugural edition in 1926. Busan was set to host Worlds in 2020, but the tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This year’s tournament ran only team events in which two teams of five players — although just three play in a match — face off in a best-of-five format, as individual and team events run separately in alternating years.

The next individual World Championships will take place in 2025 in Qatar.

The Chinese women's team won gold after defeating Japan 3-2 on Saturday, with France and Hong Kong taking bronze.

China, which has long dominated global table tennis, could see a gold sweep this year, as the men’s team was set to face France on Sunday at 8 p.m. as of press time.

The final will wrap up the tournament schedule.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]