The Korean table tennis national team is challenging the world championship.
The national team, led by male and female coaches Joo Se-hyeok and Oh Kwang-heon, left for a fierce battle through Incheon International Airport on the night of the 15th. The ‘2023 World Table Tennis Championships Finals’ will be held in Durban, South Africa (ICC Durban) from the 20th to the 28th.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) holds the World Championships every year by dividing them into team and individual events. Last year, the group event finals were held in Chengdu, China, and this time it is the individual event. The previous individual competition was held in Houston, USA in 2021. At that time, our national team achieved a new era in the 65-year history of challenging the Korea Table Tennis World Championships by winning the silver medal in the men’s individual doubles final with Jang Woo-jin and Lim Jong-hoon. Although he failed to win an individual singles medal, Seo Hyo-won advanced to the women’s quarterfinals and Lim Jong-hoon reached the men’s round of 16. In the women’s doubles, the pair Lee Si-on and Choi Hyo-ju also reached the quarterfinals.
The Korean national team for this tournament, which will be held again for the world championship, consists of a total of 12 players. Lim Jong-hun (Korea Exchange), Jang Woo-jin (Army Sports Corps), Lee Sang-soo (Samsung Life Insurance), Ahn Jae-hyun (Korea Exchange), Cho Seung-min (Samsung Life Insurance, Lee Sang-man스포츠토토), Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air), Jeon Ji-hee (Mirae Asset Securities), Seo Hyo-won (Korea Racing Association) ); Jang Woo-jin-Lim Jong-hoon, Lee Sang-soo-Cho Dae-seong, Shin Yu-bin-Jun Ji-hee, and Lee Si-on-Choi Hyo-joo will challenge the men’s and women’s doubles, while Lim Jong-hun, Shin Yu-bin, Cho Dae-sung and Kim Na-young will compete in the mixed doubles. Cho Dae-seong (Samsung Life Insurance) and Kim Na-yeong (POSCO International) only play doubles. Korea’s top men’s and women’s world rankings Lim Jong-hun (11th) and Shin Yu-bin (26th) will compete in all three events.
This tournament is a stage where there is a special interest in Korean table tennis outside of the game. This is why the next tournament, the 2024 Team World Table Tennis Championships, will be held in Busan, Korea. Korea Table Tennis Association President Seung-Min Yoo, who is also an ITTF Executive Committee member, will once again receive the ‘Egypt Cup’ at the closing ceremony of this tournament. The Egypt Cup, which is kept alternately by the host countries of the world competition, is a symbol of friendship and glory for table tennis players around the world. The Egypt Cup, which was received in Budapest in 2019 and had to be returned after not being able to compete, is already approaching with a special sense of weight.
The individual singles round of this tournament is a round of 128, and the doubles round of 64 is a tournament. All events are played on a knock-out system where even one match is eliminated. The mixed doubles will be the first to determine the champion on the 26th, the men’s and women’s doubles will be held on the 27th, and the men’s and women’s singles finals will be held on the 28th.
Joo Se-hyeok and Oh Kwang-heon, coaches of the men’s and women’s national teams, said, “As the host country of next year’s World Cup, we desperately need tangible achievements that can connect the atmosphere. I will do my best with the players with a sense of responsibility.”