China defeats Pyeongchang at Asian Table Tennis Championships
21 years after the 2002 Busan Games
The 2023 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF)-Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) Pyeongchang Asian Table Tennis Championships, held earlier this month at the Pyeongchang Dome in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon Province, was a bellwether for the table tennis program at the Hangzhou Asian Games. China dominated the tournament, 스포츠토토맨 winning seven gold medals and demoralizing competitors such as South Korea and Japan.
South Korea finished second overall with one silver and five bronze medals. The women's table tennis team finished second to China in the team event with a silver medal, while the team of Shin Yubin and Jeon Jeon-hee won bronze in the women's doubles. Shin also won a bronze medal in mixed doubles with Lim Jong-hoon.
The men's table tennis team won bronze in the quarterfinals of the team event with Jang Woo-jin and Lim Jong-hoon and Ahn Jae-hyun and Park Kyung-hyun.
Despite winning six medals, all of the men's and women's singles players were eliminated in the round of 16. No gold medals were won at the tournament in Anbang. There were even reports that the athletes were physically exhausted from previous international competitions.
The same team that competed in this tournament will be competing in the Hangzhou Asian Games. 토토사이트 This raises concerns that there is an emergency on the medal front with just 10 days left until the Asian Games start on February 22.
While South Korea's table tennis team is in a state of emergency, China has been the dominant force in Asia at the Games, finishing first overall. China won seven gold, five silver, and three bronze medals. Women's player Wang Manyu won three medals and men's player Marong won two.
China had the luxury of breaking its World Championship gold medal combination in doubles at the tournament. Both the men's and women's doubles teams swept the gold medals at the Asian Championships despite switching pairs. Despite the fact that they hadn't played together in a long time, they had no trouble defeating teams from other countries, including South Korea. The Chinese doubles team won the gold medal despite having to work out their chemistry over the course of the match.
This made it harder for competitors, including South Korea, to predict what China's card would be at the Asian Games. If China were to pull the trick of switching doubles pairs close to the tournament, South Korea would have a hard time responding.
The players themselves have only realized the power of the Chinese at this tournament, but have not come up with a game plan. Shin Yubin said in an interview after the tournament, "I realized again that to beat China, you can't just do one thing well. "We don't have much time left, but we will prepare to get better and go to Hangzhou," he said.
Lim Jong-hoon also said, "To beat China, dak gong (shut up and attack) is good, but offense and defense balance is important. "They play smart, not just dak gong, but offense and defense, so they are impenetrable. Offense is good, but you have to be solid in reception because you can't win if you make mistakes. "They have a good offense, but they can never win if they make mistakes, so we have to be solid in reception.
While the odds of beating the Chinese in their own backyard are not high, the Korean team is determined to pull off an upset. "We had a good rehearsal," said Jang Woo-jin. I think it's a wake-up call and we can eat our hearts out," said Jang Woo-jin. "We need to upgrade technically and become a stronger team. I will reflect more and train harder."
Ahn Jae-hyun and Park Kang-hyun said, "In the quarterfinals, we were disappointed to lose the first game when we were ahead. The Chinese definitely know how to win," said Ahn Jae-hyun, "We will analyze the remaining time until the Asian Games in more detail. "Our chemistry is better than expected for a first-time pairing. We've seen the potential in this tournament, so we'll try to push our limits."
The coaching staff also expressed their determination to restore their pride through the Asian Games campaign. "We will need some recharging time," said Joo Se-hyuk, head coach of the men's team. The defeat at this tournament might be good medicine," said Joo, 스포츠토토 who vowed to do better at the Asian Games.
"Despite the difficulties, we are satisfied that we came close to our targets in the team and doubles events," said Oh Kwang-heon, head coach of the women's team. "However, we did not meet our expectations in singles, but we will try to rebound well from this tournament and build on it to perform better in Hangzhou."
The table tennis competition at the Asian Games will begin with the men's and women's team events on Feb. 22. The team event finals will be held on the 26th. The mixed doubles final will be held on the 30th, while the men's and women's singles and men's and women's doubles finals will be held on the first and second days of next month.
If South Korea wins a gold medal at the Games, it will be the first time in 21 years since the 2002 Busan Asian Games. The men's doubles team of Lee Chul-seung and Lee Seung-min and the women's doubles team of Lee Eun-sil and Seok-mi Suk topped the podium back then.
Since then, Korea has won two silver and two bronze medals in Doha 2006, one silver and four bronze medals in Guangzhou 2010, one silver and three bronze medals in Incheon 2014, and one silver and three bronze medals in Jakarta-Palembang 2018.
It will be interesting to see if Korean table tennis can end its 21-year Asian Games gold medal drought and cause an upset in China. Yoo Seung-min, who won gold 21 years ago, encouraged the players, saying, "There is a short time left before the Asian Games, but I hope we can quickly organize ourselves and find our form." 고스톱