The Korea Women’s National Table Tennis Team wrapped up the group stage of the Busan World Table Tennis Championships. After securing the top spot in the group and a spot in the Round of 16, the team capped off the tournament with a sweep.
The Korea Women’s Table Tennis Team, ranked No. 5 in the world, defeated Cuba (ranked No. 42 in the world) with a match score of 3-0 (3-0 3-0 3-0) in the fourth round of the women’s team qualification match at the BNK Busan Bank 2024 Busan World Table Tennis Championships at BEXCO Choppy Hall (Venue 1) in Haeundae-gu, Busan, Korea, at 8 p.m. on Monday.
Before the match, the women’s team had already clinched first place in the group. With three wins out of three until the 18th, even if they lost to Cuba and Italy, who have two wins and one loss, won their last match (against Malaysia), they would still have the same three wins and one loss, meaning they would have the winner’s share of first place. Add to that a win over Cuba, and it was a four-game sweep.
With the victory, both the men’s and women’s teams secured top spot in the group and advanced to the Round of 16. Earlier in the day at 10 a.m., South Korea swept past India in the men’s table tennis qualifier with a 3-0 match score. The men’s and women’s teams will determine their tournament opponents based on the results of their matches on Tuesday and will begin their round of 16 matches the following day on the 21st.
The South Korean women’s national team has won the team title twice before (Sarajevo in 1973 and Ziba in 1991). However, they were eliminated in the round of 16 in Chengdu, China, in 2022. South Korea will be looking to win a medal for the first time in six years, having won bronze as a single North-South team in 2018 in Halmstad.
South Korea started with Lee Sion (28-Samsung Life Insurance), Lee Eun-hye (29-Korean Air), and Yoon Hyo-bin (26-Mirae Asset Securities), with Shin Yoo-bin (20-Korean Air) and Jeon Ji-hee (32-Mirae Asset Securities), the national team’s one-two punch, rested and Lee Eun-hye and Yoon Hyo-bin making their first appearances. Cuba fielded Daniela Fonseca Carazana (World No. 179)-Estela Crespo-Rosalba Aguilar-La O.
The absence of Shin Yoo-bin and Jeon Jeon-hee was already foreshadowed. After the victory over Puerto Rico on Nov. 18, Women’s National Team coach Oh Kwang-heon (53) said, “I want to praise the players for qualifying, and all five players worked together as a team. We will give more members a chance to play against Cuba in the remaining qualifiers.” And indeed, it gave Lee Eun-hye and Yoon Hyo-bin a chance to get some playing time.
Ision, who was the only player to play in every match of the qualifiers, showed no signs of fitness issues and took advantage. After jumping out to a 5-0 lead early in the first set, Ishion quickly added to the lead with service winners and opponent errors, eventually taking the first set 11-4. As if warmed up, Ishion pushed even harder in the second set, confounding their opponents. The team raced out to a 7-1 lead before faltering briefly, but managed to hold on for an 11-4 win to take the second set.
In the third set, Ision continued to set the pace. Cuba called a timeout to try and stem the tide. It worked for a while, and Cuba scored back-to-back points, but the 메이저사이트 weight difference was too much for Ishion to ignore. Ishion scored seven straight points to take the third set 11-4 and win all three matches of the preliminary round.
Playing for the first time in the tournament, Eun Hye Lee had a nervous and difficult start to the match. She kept exchanging points with Crespo, who kept coming back into the match. Eventually, Lee was down 8-10 and faced the prospect of losing the first set, but she made a dramatic deuce to keep the match close, and after a fast-paced rally, she held on to win the first set 14-12. After a good start to the match, Lee seemed to have warmed up, but her game was completely different in the second set. After jumping out to a 5-0 lead, Lee continued to overwhelm her opponent to secure an 11-3 victory.
The third set was no different. Lee capitalized on her opponent’s rushed play to force her into self-destruction. After taking a 10-2 lead, Lee dropped the final three points, but still managed to take the third set 11-5 to take the set 3-0.
Yoon put the finishing touches on the match. Taking advantage of her opponent’s early serving errors and reception anxiety, Yoon took control of the first set. With a dominant performance, Yoon won the first set 11-3. In the second set, the gap narrowed as her opponent gradually found her game, but Yoon was still able to save game points and close out the second set with an 11-5 victory. In the third set, Yoon continued to dominate her opponent, winning 11-5 and finishing the match with a perfect serve.