Table tennis prodigy Shin Yu-bin leads six-strong Korean contingent to Paris

Shin Yu-bin, Jeon Ji-hee, Jang Woo-jin, Cho Dae-sung and Lim Jong-hoon made it onto the Korean national team roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics through the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Ranking announced Tuesday

Korean table tennis player Shin Yu-bin, right, in action with Jeon Ji-hee during the women's doubles final at the Hangzhou Asian Games held at Gongshu Canal Sports Park Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on Oct. 2, 2023. [YONHAP]

Shin Yu-bin, Jeon Ji-hee, Jang Woo-jin, Cho Dae-sung and Lim Jong-hoon made it onto the Korean national team roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics through the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Ranking announced on Tuesday, with one final female player to be decided through a national squad selection contest that runs from Friday through Sunday.

The Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA) picked players from those who were in the top 30 on the ITTF rankings.

Over in the women’s rankings, No. 8 Shin and No. 14 Jeon made it onto the national team roster.

No. 23 Joo Cheon-hui did not qualify due to an ITTF naturalization rule that stipulates that those who naturalized before turning 18 cannot compete in international tournaments until seven years after they naturalized. Joo, 22, naturalized from China a little before she turned 18.

No other female Korean player was in the top 30, leaving the KTTA to hold a national squad selection contest for the final spot.

Tuesday's ranking pathway was a formality for Shin, as she had already booked a ticket to Paris with Lim by qualifying for the mixed doubles event at the Games through the ITTF World Rankings by May 16. The ITTF gave Olympic tickets to the top four mixed doubles teams, and the duo was ranked at No. 2 at the time.

Shin, 19, joins the national team on the back of a strong performance alongside Jeon on the international stage, having won a gold medal together in the doubles event at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.

Shin also claimed three bronze medals at the Asiad, one apiece in the singles, mixed doubles and team events.

The upcoming Olympics is her second after failing to medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she became the youngest Korean table tennis player to compete at the Games.

As for Jeon, it is also a chance for her to secure her first Olympic medal, the only thing missing from her medal-rich cabinet.

In the men’s, No. 13 Jang and No. 21 Cho joined Lim. For Cho, this will be his first time competing at the Olympics.

Korea's Jang Woo-jin celebrates after a 2024 World Team Table Tennis Championships men's team match against China's Wang Chuqin at BEXCO Convention Centre in Busan on Feb. 24. [YONHAP]

Both Jang and Lim have yet to medal at the Olympics despite their successful careers. The two most recently won a bronze medal together in a team event at the World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals Busan 2024.

Winning a medal this year will end Korea’s 12-year Olympic medal drought in table tennis. A silver medal won in the team event by Joo Se-hyuk, Oh Sang-eun and Ryu Seung-min at the 2012 London Olympics remains the last medal Korea secured.

Korea still has the second most medals in the sport in Olympic history at 18, but No. 1 China has been unmatchable with 60 medals.

China has swept gold medals in every discipline of the sport since 2008, apart from the mixed doubles.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]