'11:13 nail-biting loss' ultimately overturned! Korean table tennis prodigy Lee Seung-soo defeats Japan's Ono to win Asia Youth Championships' only gold medal

*This content was translated by AI.

Korean table tennis prodigy Lee Seung-soo (15, Daejeon Dongsan Middle School) secured a valuable gold medal in the individual event at the 30th Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships.

Lee Seung-soo, ace of the men's cadet (U-15) national team, defeated Japan's Ono Shoma 4-2 (7-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-13, 11-6, 11-3) in the U-15 boys' singles final held in Bangkok, Thailand on the afternoon of the 3rd to claim the championship.

This medal is the only one won by the Korean team in the individual events at this tournament and the sole gold medal across all events when including team competitions. The final opponent Ono had previously defeated another promising Korean player Ma Young-min (Jeonggok Middle School) 3-0 in the quarterfinals to advance.

Lee Seung-soo also faced a difficult match. He started cautiously after losing the first game 7-11. He then won two consecutive games to shift momentum. Although he lost the fourth game in a tense deuce battle 11-13, restoring balance, he dominated the fifth and sixth games to complete a 4-2 victory (7-11, 11-8, 14-12, 11-13, 11-6, 11-3).

This was a dramatic comeback that not only avenged the Korean national team's runner-up finish in the team event but also redeemed his teammate's defeat. The individual events at this tournament were challenging for Korea. In the women's junior (U-19) singles, Heo Ye-rim (Hwaseong City Corporation) was the sole Korean player to reach the quarterfinals with a strong performance.

However, she lost 0-4 to Sutthung (Hong Kong). In men's juniors, Kwon Hyuk (Daejeon Dongsan High School) was the only one to advance to the round of 16 but could not overcome China's Zhou Guan-hong. No Korean players advanced beyond the round of 16 in women's U-15 singles, men's and women's junior doubles, or mixed doubles.

Lee Seung-soo's relentless struggle thus shone brightly. Having advanced through the first group with a perfect record, Lee defeated Philippines' Cruz Kevin 3-0 in the round of 32, then sent China's Min Ming down 3-0 in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, he beat Japan's Okada Sora 3-1, and in the semifinals, he engaged in a full-game battle against Taiwan's Chen Kai-cheng before securing a 4-3 victory to reach the final.

This result fully demonstrated the presence of Korea's next-generation men's table tennis ace. Lee Seung-soo has consistently challenged older age groups on domestic courts and steadily knocked on the door of international stages, primarily through the WTT Youth Series. Those efforts culminated in this gold medal. Notably, although he narrowly missed out on gold in the team final at this tournament, settling for silver, he grew stronger with each match played.

As a result, the Korean youth national team won a total of four medals at this tournament: gold in men's U-15 singles, silver in men's team event, bronze in men's U-19 team event, and bronze in women's U-15 team event.

The Korean national team for this tournament was dispatched as part of a national athlete development project financially supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and KSPO (Korea Sport & Olympic Foundation). The young Korean players felt the high barriers of international competition firsthand.

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*This content was translated by AI.