Men's and women's table tennis reach quarterfinals of Busan World Championships in team event


The South Korean men's and women's table tennis teams reached the quarterfinals of the BNK Busan Bank 2024 Team Busan World Table Tennis Championships side-by-side, punching their tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in July.

The men's and women's teams defeated India and Brazil, respectively, in the round of 16 at BEXCO Busan on Wednesday. The tournament is a team event, with both the men and women playing a three-man five-singles (11 points, five games) format. By reaching the quarterfinals, the men's and women's teams booked their tickets to the Paris Olympics, which is reserved for the top eight nations at the World Championships. The "primary goal" was accomplished.

The women's team was the first to celebrate. The team, consisting of Shin Yoo-bin (No. 20-8 singles), Jeon Jeon-hee (No. 32-21), and Lee Sion (No. 28-44), won their Round of 16 match against Brazil 3-1 in straight games.

Playing at No. 1 singles, the 'youngest' Shin Yoo-bin was defeated by 'Brazilian ace' Bruna Takahashi (24), 2-3 (11-7 7-11 9-11 11-6 8-11). Takahashi used his sharp backhand to his advantage and handed Shin the loss.

Behind Shin Yubin, however, was her 'eldest sister' Jeon Ji-hee, who leveled the match with a 3-0 (11-9 11-7 11-2) victory over Bruna's younger sister, Giulia Takahashi (19).

Ision then bounced back with a 3-0 (11-5 11-8 11-4) win over Bruna Alexandre at No. 3 singles, while Jeon wrapped up the match with a 3-0 (11-7 11-1 11-3) win over Bruna Takahashi at No. 4 singles.

The women's team will play their quarterfinal match at 5 p.m. on May 22. They will face World No. 1 China. Looking for their sixth consecutive title, the Chinese women will be strong favorites. They swept Thailand in the Round of 16 with a 3-0 game score.

The Chinese women's team features the No. 1-4 players in the world, including Sun Yingxia (24-1), Wang Yidi (27-2), Chen Meng (30-3), and Wang Manyu (25-4). "I am grateful that so many people came and supported us today. We will do our best to show a good performance in the remaining matches," said Jeon, adding, "We had to face them (China) a little early, but we were thinking that we had to face them anyway, so we will play with a challenging mindset."

The men's team followed suit. The men's team, led by Jang Woo-jin (No. 29-14), Lim Jong-hoon (No. 27-18) and Lee Sang-soo (No. 34-27), advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory over India in the round of 16. "We're all hungry," said Jang, who is still hungry for victory. The men's team will face Denmark at 10 a.m. on Nov. 23.


스포츠토토; https://www.sportstoto365.com/