They are just one win away from their first women’s individual gold medal in 30 years.
The ‘tie-breaking’ duo of Shin Yubin (Korean Air) and Jeon Ji-hee (Mirae Asset Securities) swept aside China’s ‘world champions’ Sun Yingxia and Wang Manyu 3-0 (11-7 11-9 11-6) in the women’s doubles semifinals of the 2023 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Individual World Championships in Durban, South Africa, on Saturday.
No one saw it coming.
Xin Yubin and Jeon Jeon-hee are ranked 12th in doubles, while Sun Yingxia and Wang Man-yu are ranked first. In addition, Sun Yingxia and Wang Manyu are ranked first and second in singles.
That’s a win against arguably the strongest doubles team in the world.
Their performance was even more shocking than the result. They didn’t back down and went toe-to-toe to win.
The power of Chinese women”s players is comparable to that of men”s players from other countries.
However, Sun Yingxia and Wang Manyu were unable to showcase their skills against Xin Yubin and Zhen Zhenhui.
They were overwhelmed by Zhen’s fast and powerful attacks. When the Chinese pair did manage to land an attack, Xin Yubin was relentless.
The two played a fantastic combination, utilizing their strengths to cover each other’s weaknesses.
The usually emotionless Sun Yingxia’s face became distorted in the middle and late stages of game two.
After the match, she said, “I still can’t believe it. I don’t even know what’s going on, it’s like a dream,” she said.
“It’s been a dream of mine to reach the final once, and I’m so grateful to my partner,” said Jeon, who has finally shaken off the jinx of major tournament slumps.
“I watched you play while saying, ‘Hey, wow, oh,'” Shin laughed, adding, “In the last match, I lost because I tried to avoid my opponent because she was good, but this time we won because we did our own thing.”
The duo, who never hesitate to show their affection and trust for each other in their post-match interviews, also gave credit to Korea Table Tennis Association President Yoo Seung-min.
Yoo had bought them steaks the day before to cheer them up.
“I think I’m crazy today because of the steaks (he bought),” Jeon said, clapping her hands with Shin Yubin.
Reaching the women’s doubles semifinals for the first time in 12 years and securing a bronze medal was enough for the Korean women to call it a success.
But Shin and Jeon are not slowing down anytime soon.
They have reached the final of the women’s individual event for the first time in 30 years since the 1993 Games in Gothenburg, Sweden, where Hyun Jung-hwa won gold in the women’s singles.메이저놀이터
She needs one more win to give Korean table tennis its first women’s individual gold medal in 30 years.
In the women’s doubles, it would be the first gold medal in 36 years since Yang Young-ja and Hyun Jung-hwa won the title in 1987 in New Delhi, India.
Their final opponents are once again the Chinese pair. They will face the world No. 7 pair of Chen Meng and Wang Yidi at 1:30 a.m. KST on Aug. 28.
“It’s great to be able to play the next match,” said Shin Yubin. “The Chinese players are very good, so I will prepare as well as I did for this match to create good content and win,” said Shin.
“I have Yoo Bin-yi by my side, so I’m not afraid to trust my partner and have fun,” said Jeon Jeon-hee.