South Korean table tennis has struck gold at the Asian Games for the first time in 21 years.

Jeon Jeon-hee and Shin Yoo-bin defeated North Korea’s Cha Soo-soo and Park Soo-kyong 4-1 (11-6, 11-4, 10-12, 12-10, 11-4) in the women’s table tennis doubles final at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games.

In her first Asian Games, Xin Yubin won all four events she competed in: bronze in the women’s singles, women’s team event, and mixed doubles, turning her wish to “change my medal in the women’s doubles” into “gold”.

South Korea won five consecutive gold medals in table tennis from the 1986 Seoul Asian Games to the 2002 Busan Games, but have had to settle for silver and bronze ever since. Today, Shin Yubin and Jeon Jeon-hee won their first gold medal in 21 years.

Shin Yubin (19) and Jeon Jeon-hee (31), who have been playing together since 2019, have proven themselves year after year. After rising to the top of the rankings at the 2021 Asian Championships, they reached the final at the World Championships in May, upsetting China’s Sun Yingxia and Wang Manyu to win silver.

A month later, Shin Yubin-Jeon Hee finally reached the top of the women’s doubles rankings at the Asian Games.

North Korea, who met in the final, pulled off an upset by beating Chinese Taipei in the women’s team event, and it was suggested that their lack of international competition might make them a tricky opponent. However, they were no match for Shin Yubin and Jeon Jeon-hee, who have four years of international experience under their belts.

In the post-match press conference, Shin Yubin said that she prepared the same no matter who her opponent was, noting that North Korea was her first final opponent, “So the results followed, and we had fun with the serenade.”

In particular, the two athletes credited each other with helping them win gold.

“It was amazing to be in the final for the first time at the Asian Games,” said Shin Yubin. I wanted to play with no regrets,” she said, adding, “I want to say thank you to my sister for guiding me well and I’m happy to win a medal 메이저사이트.”

“I was honestly very nervous in the final, but I think I played well because Yoo Bin Yi encouraged me,” said Jeon. “I’ve been playing for Korea for 14 years,” said Jeon Jeon-hee, who naturalized in China in 2011, adding, “I had a low level in China, and now I’m starting my second table tennis life in Korea because they gave me a chance to play again.”

At the awards ceremony, the two made hearts as if they had already made up their minds, kissed their medals, and had a lot of fun.