After crossing the seemingly impregnable Great Wall of China and reaching the Women’s Doubles Final of the World Table Tennis Championships for the first time in 36 years, Shin Yubin (Korean Air) and Jeon Jeon-hee (Mirae Asset Securities) have vowed to play without regrets in the final.
The Korean duo defeated world number one pair Sun Yingxia and Wang Manyu (China) 3-0 (11-7 11-9 11-6) in the women’s doubles semi-finals of the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships 2023 in Durban, South Africa, on 26 June (local time) to reach the final and secure the silver medal.
It was the first time in 36 years that the pair had reached a women’s doubles final at a World Championships. No South Korean player has reached the women’s doubles final at a World Championship since Yang Young-ja and Hyun Jung-hwa won gold in New Delhi, India, in 1987.메이저사이트
Even if we expand the scope to the women’s individual events, it has been 30 years since a South Korean athlete reached the final of a women’s singles event since Hyun Jung-hwa won gold in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1993.
After the match, Shin Yubin said, “The things I prepared with my sister came out in the match, and it worked out well,” adding, “I didn’t feel disadvantaged throughout the match. In the past, when we played against Sun Yingxia-Wang Manyu, we lost because we tried to avoid them because they were good. This time, we just did our own thing and won.”
“I still don’t know what’s going on, it’s like a dream. I can’t believe it,” and said, “It was my dream to reach the final once. Thank you to my partner,” she said.
Shin Yubin mentioned that the previous day, Yoo Seung-min, the president of the Korean Table Tennis Association, held a steak dinner. “I feel crazy today because of the steak, I can’t believe it,” said Jeon Jeon-hee.
The pair that Shin Yubin and Jeon Jeon-hee defeated, Sun Yingxia and Wang Man-yu, are not only the world number one in women’s doubles, but also the world number one and two in singles. Sun Yingxia and Wang Manyu were looking to win their third consecutive title.
“I didn’t expect to lose, but I didn’t expect to win 3-0,” said Xin Yubin when asked if she expected to win 3-0 against such a strong opponent. “I had faith that if we play with good content, good results will come. After the 3-0 win, I thought, ‘Are we 3-0?
“In mixed doubles, we were up 2-0 twice and then came back,” said Jeon. “Honestly, I didn’t think I could win 3-0,” she recalled, “but if you’re scared, you can lose at any time, so I just thought I’d try.
Jeon Jeon-hee, who had an exciting attack on the day, said, “I’m also surprised. I panicked while watching the attack go in.” Shin Yubin applauded, saying, “When I saw what my sister was doing, I just let out ‘ya~’, ‘wow~’, and ‘oh~’.”
Their final opponents will be the world number seven pair of Wang Yidi and Chen Meng (CHN). The final will take place at 1.30am local time on the 28th.
After defeating the strongest doubles pair in the semi-finals, Shin and Jeon will enter the final with a lot of confidence.
“The Chinese players are very good,” said Shin Yubin. I think we need to prepare as well as we did for this match and try to win while creating good content with my sister,” Shin emphasised.
“I hope I can have fun thinking about today’s match and analysing my final opponent,” said Jeon.
Shin Yubin, who said she wasn’t too concerned about reaching the women’s doubles final at the World Championships for the first time in 36 years, said, “It’s great to win this match and be able to play the next one. I want to play with no pressure and have fun, and I want to play without regrets in the final match.”
Jeon Jeon-hee said, “I will play with confidence and enjoyment because (Shin) Yubin is next to me. I want to play so that I don’t have any regrets.”