Paris Olympics Korean Table Tennis Rebounds, First Medal in 12 Years 'Smash!'

China and Japan must meet late… Germany is a target for caution in the European competition

Challenge for a medal after 12 years!' The 2024 Paris Olympics could be recorded as an important turning point in the history of Korean table tennis.

This is because the Paris Games are being held at a time when Korean table tennis, which had been in a slump since the 2010s, is finally showing a clear rebound for both the men's and women's teams.

There was a time when Korea was called China's only rival in table tennis, a sport that China had dominated. 토토사이트 순위

In the 1988 Seoul Games, when table tennis became an Olympic sport for the first time, Korea won two gold medals led by the men's singles team of Yoo Nam-gyu (Korea Exchange coach) and the women's doubles team of Hyun Jung-hwa (Korea Racing Association coach) and Yang Young-ja.

In the 2004 Athens Games, Yoo Seung-min, the current president of the Korea Table Tennis Association, won a gold medal in the men's singles.

Before Japan won the mixed doubles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Korea had won only three gold medals in Olympic table tennis, all of which were won by non-Chinese countries.

However, Korea had not raised the national flag at the Olympic awards ceremony since Oh Sang-eun (Mirae Asset Securities coach), Joo Sae-hyuk (men's team coach), and Ryu Seung-min won a silver medal in the men's team event at the 2012 London Games.

They were overtaken by Japan and pushed back by Europe, suffering the humiliation of not winning a medal for two consecutive times at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Games.

Korean table tennis, which had been on the decline, is taking off again in the 2020s.

The men's national team has become much more solid as Jang Woo-jin continues to play the role of 'ace' and Lim Jong-hoon (Korea Exchange), who is good at both singles and doubles, has grown.

The women's table tennis, which had been struggling alone, has greatly increased its competitiveness in international competitions as Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air), who was gaining attention as a 'prodigy', has grown well.

With these four players as the mainstays, Korean table tennis won a total of eight medals at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games last year: one gold medal (women's doubles), two silver medals (men's team and men's doubles), and five bronze medals (women's team and mixed doubles, women's singles, men's singles).

It was the best performance since the 2002 Busan Games, when eight medals were won, including two golds.

The skills of the 'third option' for both the men's and women's teams are also impeccable.

The 21-year-old 'Young Gun' Jo Dae-seong (Samsung Life Insurance), who unexpectedly was selected as the last player for the men's team, has the skills to be a 'secret weapon' in Paris.

Lee Eun-hye (Korean Air) of the women's team is in great form, having won all eight matches in the preliminary matches to determine the last player for the women's team.

The fact that both the men's and women's national teams are strong in doubles brightens the medal prospects even more.