Lim Jong-hoon (26), Jang Woo-jin (28), Shin Yoo-bin (19), and Seo Hyo-won (36), all competing at the World Table Tennis Championships, advanced to the round of 16 in the men’s and women’s singles.
Women’s singles world No. 26 Xin Yubin defeated Yuan Jianan (18th-FRANCE) 4-3 (9-11 11-9 11-9 8-11 9-11 11-5 12-10) in the round of 32 of the Women’s Singles at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships 2023 at the International Convention Center in Durban, South Africa, on Friday.
Xin Yubin had a close match against the Chinese veteran and top-ranked Yuan Jianan. After losing the first game at 9-9, Yubin fought back to take the second game at 9-9. Games three and four went back and forth with the score at 2-2.
In game five, Shin was down 4-9 before scoring five consecutive points to tie the game at 9-9, but she was unable to sustain the momentum and lost the game. She took the next game with a huge 6-1 lead.메이저사이트
In the final seven games, Shin was down 2-6 midway through the match and was down 8-10. With only one point to go, she scored four straight points to win the match.
After the match, Shin said, “It was a very difficult match and a close one, but I’m glad I got through it. I don’t usually get goosebumps when I play, but when (the final game) was tied at 10-10, I got goosebumps all over,” she said, adding, “It was a fun and happy match, and I think I’ll remember it a lot because I ended up winning.”
In the round of 16, Xin will face world number one Sun Yingxia (CHN). Sun Yingxia has been in perfect form this tournament, not dropping a single game in the women’s singles.
“I think I will have to do everything I can no matter who my opponent is,” said Xin Yubin about her next match, “Sun Yingxia doesn’t lose easily. She seems to be a solid player, so I will have to prepare thoroughly and make a good match.”
The highest-ranked player in the Korean men’s table tennis team, Lim Jong-hoon (ranked 11th in the world), also advanced to the round of 16 in the men’s singles with an upset win.
Lim defeated Lubomir Pice (86th – Slovakia) 4-2 (7-11 8-11 11-7 11-6 11-7 11-5) in the men’s singles round of 32 earlier in the day. This is the second consecutive tournament that Lim has reached the round of 16 in the men’s singles, having reached the round of 16 in Houston in 2021.
His opponent in the round of 16 will be China’s Ma Rong. Ma Rong is a dominant force in table tennis, having won gold medals in the men’s singles at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, becoming the first man to win back-to-back Olympic table tennis titles.
“It’s a world championship, so the Chinese players are well-prepared,” Lim said, “but I’ve never felt intimidated when playing against them. My mindset is that if I get intimidated and lose, I will stop playing table tennis, so I will try to play with all the strength I can muster.”
Zhang Wujin, ranked 13th in the world, also reached the round of 16 in the men’s singles with a 4-0 (11-3 11-7 11-7 11-5) victory over Nigeria’s Taiwo Marty, ranked 91st in the world, in the round of 32.
Jang will face Denmark’s Anders Lind (ranked 180th in the world) in the round of 16.
The eldest member of the Korean table tennis team, Seo Hyo-won, will be competing in her second consecutive World Championships women’s singles quarterfinal.
Seo, ranked 108th in the world, defeated Adina Diakonu (59th-Romania) 4-2 (11-9 11-3 11-6 10-12 11-13 11-6) in the women’s singles round of 32 to advance to the round of 16.
Seo, who reached the quarterfinals of the women’s singles at the previous event in Houston, USA, her best result at a World Championships, was aiming for the quarterfinals again. Her opponent in the round of 16 will be World No. 10 Hina Hayata (JPN). “It won’t be easy, but I’m up for the challenge and will try to win with all my skills,” said Seo.
Jeon Jeon-hee (31-World No. 36) lost 0-4 (9-11 6-11 6-11 10-12) to Japan’s Miu Hirano (19) in the round of 32 in the women’s singles. It was the second time in as many tournaments that Jeon fell in the round of 32. The oldest member of the men’s team, Lee Sang-hyung (33rd in the world), also lost 0-4 (7-11 7-11 6-11 3-11) to Chinese powerhouse Lin Gaoyuan (7th) in the round of 32 in the men’s singles.
In men’s doubles, the pair of Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung joined the quarterfinals.
The pair defeated Ovidiu Ionescu (ROM)-Alvaro Robles (SPA) 3-1 (13-11 16-18 11-9 11-7) in the round of 16 of the men’s doubles.
Next up for Lee and Cho will be Sweden’s Christian Karlsson-Matthias Falk, the men’s doubles champions from Houston 2021.
In mixed doubles, the top-ranked pair of Shin Yoo-bin and Lim Jong-hoon fell short of a medal as they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Shin and Lim lost 0-3 (8-11 5-11 6-11) to Japan’s Hina Hayata and Tomokazu Harimoto in the mixed doubles quarterfinals.
Earlier, Kim Na-young and Cho Dae-sung also lost 0-3 (11-13 5-11 6-11) in the round of 16 to Kwai-man and Lin Shidong, the next generation of Chinese aces, making it two pairs eliminated in mixed doubles.