Shin Yubin (19, Korean Air) and Jeon Jeon Hee (31, Mirae Asset Securities) have reached the women’s individual final of the World Table Tennis Championships for the first time in 30 years.
Ranked 12th in the world, Shin and Jeon secured the silver medal with a 3-0 (11-7 11-9 11-6) victory over the world No. 1 pair of China’s Sun Yingxia and Wang Manyu in the women’s doubles semifinals at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships 2023 in Durban, South Africa, on Saturday.먹튀검증
It is the first time in 30 years that a South Korean player has reached the women’s individual final at a world championship since Hyun Jeong-hwa won the women’s singles gold medal in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1993. The Korean pair of Shin Yoo-bin and Jeon Jeon-hee will face China’s Wang Yidi and Chen Heng, ranked seventh in the world, for gold at 1:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Shin and Jeon are the defending champions and pulled off the upset in the singles after playing aggressive attacking table tennis against the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 players, Sun Yingxia and Wang Manyu. Jeon’s half-beat fast forehand and Shin’s tenacious defense against her opponent’s attacks were the driving forces behind the victory. Shin and Jeon have been in top form from the Round of 32 to today’s semifinal, not dropping a game.
Yoo Seung-min, president of the Korea Table Tennis Association, was on hand to applaud and encourage the duo. Meanwhile, Korea will also be going for gold in the men’s doubles with the pair of Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung (Samsung Life Insurance) in the final.
[Shin Yubin and Jeon Jeon-hee’s one-on-one interview with the finalists].
-How do you feel about reaching the final?
=Shin Yubin: First of all, I think it was a good match because we played the things that my sister and I had prepared, and we were able to execute them successfully. It’s nice to have a good result.
=Jeon Jeon-hee: I still can’t believe it, I don’t know what’s going on, it’s like a dream. It was my dream to reach the final once. I’m so grateful to my partner and thankful to everyone who helped me.
-In the second set, you were down five points and then came back. What did you talk about then?
=Shin Yubin: We just said that we have to do what we have to do. We communicated a lot to make sure we were in the best condition for each other.
=Jeon Jeon-hee: I think it’s important to create content even when you’re losing, so I think we had fun.
-Were you expecting a win or even 3-0?
=Shin Yubin: (laughs) We didn’t expect to win, we didn’t expect to lose, but we didn’t expect to lose. I think after it ended 3-0, I thought, “Are we 3-0?
=Jeon Jeon-hee: No. I honestly thought we were going to win…. When I played mixed doubles a couple times, I was up 2-0 twice and then it came back to bite us, so I thought, “Let’s play to the end, whether we go in or not, if they think we’re scary, a losing game could come at any time, so let’s just play.” I just thought about that.
-What was the key play of the game?
=Shin Yubin: I don’t think there was any disadvantage during the whole game, and we lost because we tried to avoid the opponent because they were good, so this time we just played our own game, so we won? (laughs)
=Jeon Jeon-hee: Yoo Bin is so cool that he doesn’t seem to be afraid to cook for us. Is it because she eats steak well?
=ShinYubin: Steak? The chairman bought me steak yesterday. (laughs)
=Jeon Jeon-hee: I think I’m crazy today because of the steak. (They laugh and clap and spit)
-You two beat China for the first time, but your next final opponent is also China.
=Xin Yubin: The Chinese players are good, so we’ll try to win with good content, just like we prepared for this match.
=Jeon Jeon-hee: I hope we can have fun. (Laughs)
-It’s been 36 years since the last Women’s Doubles World Championship final since Yang Young-ja and Hyun Jung-hwa in 1987.
=Yubin Shin: I don’t really pay attention to that, I’m just happy that we won this match and we can play the next one.
=Jeon Jeon-hee: I hope that in my life, I can enjoy this stage, this final, without any regrets, whether it’s for me or for Yubin, in my table tennis life or in all my life.
-Korean fans were very supportive.
=Shin Yubin: The atmosphere is important in a match, and there’s a flow to it, and a lot of people cheered for us, and I think that’s why we won this match.
=Jeon Jeon-hee: They gave me a lot of strength, and I think that’s good. It’s like playing in Korea.
-What would you say to each other before the final?
=Shin Yubin: My sister and I made it all the way to the final, so we want to have fun and have no regrets.
=Jeon Jeon-hee: I’m not afraid to trust my partner and have fun because Yoo Bin is there.