Kanak Jha upsets Korea's Cho Dae-seong 4-2 in early table tennis knockout

It was Korea’s first elimination in table tennis at the Paris Games, where the Korean national team is looking to reclaim its spot as a powerhouse after failing to win a medal across the sport in the past two Olympics.

Cho Dae-seong competes during the men's singles table tennis round of 64 on Sunday at the South Paris Arena in Paris. [YONHAP]

The United States’ Kanak Jha upset Korea’s Cho Dae-seong 4-2 in the men’s singles table tennis round of 64 at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, knocking the former teenage wunderkind out of the competition in his first match of the Games.

It was Korea’s first elimination in table tennis at the Paris Games, where the Korean national team is looking to reclaim its spot as a powerhouse after failing to win a medal across the sport in the past two Olympics.

Cho was down 3-1, winning the first game 11-8 but losing the next three 11-8, 11-2 and 11-2.to leave Kha one win away from stealing the spot in the round of 32.

Cho held Jha for Game 6, winning it 11-8, but failed to pull of a comeback, losing the next game 12-10.

United States' Kanak Jha plays against Korea's Cho Dae-seong during a men's singles round of 64 table tennis game at the Paris Olympics on Sunday in Paris. [AP/YONHAP]

Jha, 24, is a five-time U.S. national champion and is competing at his third Olympics. But he has yet to win a medal at the Games. He was one of three athletes who qualified for this year’s round of 64 after a preliminary round the day before.

The former U.S. No. 1 recently came off a one-year ban for missing three drug tests within 12 months. He was banned from competing for more than 15 months and tumbled down the rankings.

Cho, 21, is competing at his first Olympics and entered the tournament as the No. 15 seed. He sits at No. 20 on the official International Table Tennis Federation men’s singles list as of press time, with Kha at No. 120.

Korea’s Jang Woo-jin, the No. 8 seed at the Paris Olympics and ranked world No. 13 in men’s singles, was set to compete in the round of 64 against Puerto Rico’s Daniel Gonzalez later Sunday as of press time.

Cho is yet to compete in the men’s table tennis team competition, alongside Jang and Lim Jong-hoon, on Aug. 8.

Table tennis takes place at the South Paris Arena in Paris.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]