Korea’s Second Table Tennis Life Begins 12 Years After Being Unnamed in China, Gold Medal
Shin Yu-bin and Jeon Ji-hee won the gold medal by beating North Korea’s Cha Soo-young and Park Soo-kyung with a match score of 4-1 11-6, 11-4, 10-12, 12-10, 11-3 in the final of the table tennis women’s doubles at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games at Archer Canal Sports Park Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on the 2nd. 토토
Shin Yu-bin and Jeon Ji-hee, the world’s No. 1 women’s doubles player, had difficult matches in a row. The strongest country, China, beat Japan in the semifinals and North Korea in the finals in succession amid falling luck, and finally won the gold medal.
“Honestly, my goal was to only win a medal, Jeon Ji-hee said. Another opportunity came as China fell. Chinese players have more experience than us and have a good ability to solve each situation well. There was a difficult process, but I’m so proud that I didn’t give up until the end and overcame it, he said.
Jeon Ji-hee is a naturalized player from China. He was able to become a youth representative in China, but his dream of becoming a national team member did not come true. In China, the strongest table tennis player, it was more difficult to become a national team member than a gold medal. In terms of Korea, the situation is similar to that of the national archery team.
Eventually, Jeon left for Korea in 2008 and passed the naturalization test to acquire Korean citizenship in 2011. Jeon Ji-hee was not allowed to compete in the national competition due to naturalization regulations, and played in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games with the Korean national flag for the first time.
Shin Yu-bin and Jeon Ji-hee began working together in a doubles group ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Although she failed to win the Olympics, she continued to improve her performance in the doubles group and won the gold medal at the Asian Games.
Jeon Ji-hee said, “Honestly, I couldn’t get to a high position due to my lack of skills in China. However, table tennis life has begun again in Korea. It is the second starting point,” he said, conveying the meaning of the South Korean national team.
In addition, Jeon Ji-hee said, Because it is a doubles event, you cannot win a medal without a partner. No team was easy until the final, but they beat it together, he said, praising his partner Shin Yu-bin and emphasizing, I want to go out with Yu-bin at the Paris Olympics next year.