Korean table tennis stars seek to reclaim powerhouse status in Paris

Olympic Sports

Korean table tennis stars seek to reclaim powerhouse status in Paris

Published: 22 Jul. 2024, 13:49 Updated: 23 Jul. 2024, 17:11

Korea's Shin Yu-bin, right, and Lim Jong-hoon train at the South Paris Arena in Paris on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Korea is sending a six-person strong table tennis team to the Paris Olympics where the country will fight to reclaim a spot on the podium for the first time since 2012.

Korea has been a global powerhouse in table tennis since its Olympic debut in Seoul in 1988 but has come up short at the past two Games.

China has dominated the medal table at every Olympics, but Korea sits in second with a comfortable lead. That’s even as Korea has endured a lengthy medal drought, with the last haul coming from a silver medal finish in the men’s team event in London in 2012.

There will be men’s and women’s singles and team events, as well as a mixed doubles contest.

Jeon Ji-hee serves during the women's single round of 32 at the World Table Tennis Champions Incheon at Inspire Arena in Incheon on March 27. [NEWS1]

Paris will see the return of table tennis prodigy Shin Yu-bin, who became the youngest-ever player on the Korean national to compete at the Olympics in Tokyo and has added to her medal collection in the years since her first Games.

Shin is the highest-ranked Korean in women’s singles on the ITTF list and is expected to lead the women’s team event and the mixed doubles event, which debuted at the last Olympics.

Shin and her mixed doubles partner, 27-year-old Lim Jong-hoon, sit at No. 3 on the rankings for mixed doubles pairs and head to Paris with a world title under their belt.

Korea's Shin Yu-bin, right, and Lim Jong-hoon train at the South Paris Arena in Paris on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Shin did not compete in mixed doubles in Tokyo.

Korea qualified both its men’s and women’s teams through the 2024 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships, which were held in Busan in February.

All but one of the players made the national squad by being in the top 30 on the ITTF rankings list.

Lee Eun-hye, who was on the women’s team that qualified Korea in Busan, earned her spot on the Olympic team through a separate selection contest.

Half of this year’s squad was in Tokyo, and the other half will make their Olympic debut.

But Lim and Jang Woo-jin fell short of a medal in Tokyo and will seek to add to their trophy cabinet with newcomer Cho Dae-sung in the men’s team event.

Jang Woo-jin plays at a media day at Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, South Chungcheong on June 26. [YONHAP]

Shin and Jeon Ji-hee, the oldest player on the national squad at 31 years old, will also vie to reach their first podium with Lee. Jeon’s first Olympics was Rio in 2016.

Singles matches are best-of-seven, where the first player to reach 11 points with a two-point difference wins each game.

Doubles events are similar in rules; the two players are required to rotate in hitting the ball when it is on their side of the table.

Team events consist of four singles matches with one doubles match, with all games played in a best-of-five format.

Each team comprises three players and wins the bout if it wins more than two of the singles matches.

The doubles match acts as a tiebreaker if the score following the singles matches is 2-2.

Table tennis events will take place at the South Paris Arena n Paris. [YONHAP]

Table tennis runs nearly the entire length of the Olympics, with preliminary rounds of the men’s and women’s singles competitions, along with the mixed doubles round of 16, kicking off the action on July 27.

Medal rounds in the women’s team event wrap up table tennis on Aug. 10.

Korea has a total of 18 Olympic medals in table tennis.

BY MARY YANG, KEVIN CHUNG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]