South Korea’s first women’s singles gold medal at the 1993 World Championships

“Actually, I was thinking of this month as a special month because it’s the 30th anniversary, and I’m happy that (the juniors) did well.”

Hyun Jeong-hwa, 54, a “legend” of Korean women’s table tennis, said in a slightly excited voice when we contacted her on the 28th.

Hyun Jeong-hwa, head coach of the Korean Horse Racing Association table tennis team. /News1

For Hyun, May is a special month. Exactly 30 years ago, in May 1993, she became the first South Korean to win the women’s singles gold medal at the World Table Tennis Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The gold medal was especially precious for Kim, who had already made table tennis history by winning the women’s doubles gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the mixed doubles title at the 1989 World Championships in Dortmund, and the women’s team title at the 1991 World Championships in Chiba. They were not achieved in partnership with anyone, but as a result of his own individual skill. He also cites winning the women’s singles title at the 1993 World Championships in Gothenburg as one of his most memorable moments.

However, in the 30 years since then, there hasn’t been a Korean woman in the final of a singles or doubles event at the World Championships.

It looked like this year would be no different토토사이트.

However, on the 27th, it was announced that Shin Yubin (19, Korean Air) and Jeon Jeon-hee (31, Mirae Asset Securities, ranked 12th in doubles) had reached the women’s doubles final at the 2023 ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) Individual World Championships in Durban, South Africa, and in the final on the 28th, they lost 0-3 (8-11 7-11 10-12) to China’s Wang Yidi (26) and Chen Meng (29, ranked 7th in doubles) to win the silver medal.

Shin Yubin (L) and Jeon Jeon-hee celebrate on the podium after winning the silver medal in the women’s doubles final at the 2023 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Individual World Championships in Durban, South Africa, on Monday. /Korea Table Tennis Federation

“Shin Yubin played a steady role as a maker (of points) with solid defense, and Jeon Jeon-hee was the main scorer,” said Hyun, who watched the final live after 2 a.m. KST. “It was obvious that they had worked together for a long time (since 2019) and knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

As for the significance of their silver medal, Shin emphasized, “In order to reach the final of a table tennis tournament, you have to beat China at least once in the semifinals, and it gave us the confidence that we can overcome the barrier of (the reigning world champions) China.” Indeed, the pair made waves in the semifinals, sweeping the world No. 1 pair of Sun Yingxia (23) and Wang Manyu (24) 3-0.

The pair’s biggest advantage is their organic play, which comes from their right-handed (Shin) and left-handed (Jeon) combination. In table tennis doubles, one player cannot hit the ball more than twice, and must take turns. Therefore, when both players use the same hand, it is essential to make quick strokes to prevent the movement from getting tangled, which increases the chance of inaccurate shots. “I think the two players definitely had an advantage in this aspect,” said Hyun.

“Chinese players (like Sun Yingxia-Wang Manyu and Wang Yidi-Tianmeng) often have the same handle, so their weakness is in the fast strokes,” he said, “so they need to work on that.” “When the opportunity comes, you need to seize it,” he added. He also pointed out that players need to develop guts, saying, “When an opportunity comes, you have to be able to seize it.”

Although the championships are over, there are many big table tennis events coming up, including the Asian Championships in Pyeongchang in September, the Asian Games in Hangzhou, the team event at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan next year, and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

“We have a green light for a medal,” Hyun said, noting that Shin Yoo-bin and Jeon Jeon-hee are turning into a Korean women’s doubles ace.