At the doorstep of the finals, South Korea's table tennis teams met their 'Taiwanese reef' head-on, securing bronze medals in both men's and women's team events... Kim Jin-woong: "Regret remains because we could have gone higher" [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean men's and women's Jeong Gu (CEO) teams secured bronze medals in the team events at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. This marks a consecutive third-place finish for both genders, following their achievement at the previous 2022 Hangzhou Games.

In the women's team semifinal held on the 20th at the Tennis Center in Higashiyama Park, Nagoya, Japan, South Korea lost to Taiwan 1-2.

Table tennis uses a soft rubber ball; the first team to score four points wins a game. Doubles matches are played as best-of-nine games, while singles matches are best-of-seven games, with the final deciding game requiring seven points to win. Team events proceed in the order of doubles-singles-doubles.

The Lee Su-jin-Kim Han-seol pair lost the decisive final game after a tight contest in the opening doubles match. Hwang Jeong-mi then won her singles match, tying the score at 1-1. However, the Eom Ye-jin-Kim Yeon-hwa duo failed to maintain their lead in the final doubles match and suffered a comeback defeat, ending their hopes of reaching the finals. At the Asian Games, table tennis awards bronze medals to semifinal losers without holding a separate third-place playoff.

According to 'Games Hub,' the official media information site for the organizing committee, Lee Su-jin said after the match, "If we had won the tight opening doubles match, we could have won easily." She added, "I feel both happy and disappointed, but I will show better performances in the remaining matches and at future tournaments."

In the men's team semifinal that followed, South Korea also fell to Taiwan 1-2. After losing the first doubles match (Lee Hyun-kwon-Park Jae-gyu), Kim Jin-woong won his singles match to level the score at 1-1. However, the team suffered a decisive 0-5 defeat in the final doubles match (Kim Hyun-soo-Lee Ha-neul), ending their tournament campaign.

Kim Jin-woong stated, "I felt we could have gone higher, so I am filled with regret." He continued, "Although my singles victory was positive, the team result is disappointing. With individual events still remaining, I will refocus and concentrate on winning a medal."

Once dominating the Asian Games men's and women's team gold medals, South Korean table tennis failed to reach the finals in either category at this tournament, concluding their team schedule with bronze medals in both divisions.

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*This content was translated by AI.