The South Korean women’s table tennis team finished as runners-up to China in the team final of the Asian Table Tennis Championships.안전놀이터
South Korea, ranked fifth in the world in table tennis, fell to world No. 1 China 0-3 in the women’s team final of the 2023 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)-Asia Table Tennis Union (ATTU) Pyeongchang Asian Championships at the Pyeongchang Dome in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon Province, on Friday.
It was the second consecutive Asian Championships final for South Korea, who finished as runners-up in the previous edition in 2021.
South Korea’s bid to win the team title at the Asian Championships for the first time in 33 years fell short. Hong Cha-ok, Hyun Jeong-hwa, and Yang Young-ja won the title in 1988 in Niigata, and Hong Cha-ok, Hong Soon-hwa, Hyun Jeong-hwa, and Lee Tae-joo won the title in 1990 in Kuala Lumpur, beating North Korea. South Korea returned to the tournament after a 33-year absence, but were unable to break through the Chinese barrier.
In the women’s singles, world No. 9 Shin Yubin, who was lined up as a one-match ace, lost 0-3 (8-11 7-11 7-11) to world No. 1 Sun Yingxia.
Having lost to Sun Yingxia in the round of 16 at the World Championships in May, she was down in the first game before rallying to 7-8. She failed to hit the ball on her forehand and her subsequent forehand topspin attack went wide. Yubin’s final backhand return was also out of bounds, allowing Sun Yingxia to take game one.
Trailing in game two, Shin fought back to 6-7, but then dropped back-to-back points to miss a chance to break back. Sun Yingxia took game two when her backhand return hit the net.
In the third game, Xin Yubin pulled within 6-6, but Sun Yingxia scored two consecutive points to break away. Yubin fell to her knees as she realized the gap in quality between her and Sun Yingxia, who has been ranked No. 1 in the world since July last year.
Playing in the second match, world No. 33 Jeon Jeon-hee lost 1-3 (5-11 6-11 11-9 6-11) to world No. 2 Chen Heng.
Jeon Jeon-hee took the early lead in game one with a bold attack but allowed Chun Heng to catch up. At 5-5, Jeon’s backhand attack went wide and Chen took game one.
In game two, at 4-4, Chen Meng broke through with three consecutive points. Hsieh pulled within 6-7, but Chen broke back to take game two.
In game three, at 9-9, Jeon won a rally to reach game point. Chun’s forehand attack went out of bounds and Jeon took game three.
Chun took the lead early in the fourth game and Jeon was unable to close the gap. After facing match point, Jeon fought hard, but Chen took the final point to win the match.
In match three, World No. 67 Yang Ha-eun lost 0-3 (1-11 4-11 6-11) to World No. 3 Wang Yidi.
Yang failed to score a point until midway through the first game, when Wang Yidi pulled away and lost by 10 points. Wang Yidi continued to push her hard in game two, gaining points and easily taking the game. Yang fought back to 5-5 in game three, but back-to-back unforced errors cost her the lead. Wang Yidi’s final forehand winner gave China the win.
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