Korean table tennis male ace Jang Woo-jin (28, world ranking 14th) won the first game of the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships after a full game. Lee Sang-soo (33rd, 33rd), the eldest member of the national team, easily passed the first round with a score of 4-0.
Jang Woo-jin won the 2023 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Table Tennis Championships men’s singles first round (round of 128) held at the International Convention Center (DICC) in Durban, South Africa on the 21st (local time) with Pang Yeuen Koen (80th, Singapore). 4 to 3 (11-7 5-11 11-4 11-5 10-12 5-11 11-4).
Jang Woo-jin, who easily took the first game by scoring 4 points in a row from the start of the game, faced his first hurdle in the second game. Serve misses often came out, and the attack didn’t go well or get caught in the net. He gave up 4 points in a 4–6 trailing situation, making the score of the game 1–1.
But he brought the mood back with a big 9-1 3-game lead. Jang Woo-jin’s fast drive and quick backhand attack of the counterbeat made the opponent win 3-4 games without being able to properly defend.
An easy victory was expected, but the second hurdle came. The opponent used a tricky serve and had difficulty receiving. In a situation where they were behind 5 games 1-5, they seemed to escape the crisis by catching up one point at a time and making a 7-7 tie. It turned into a 10-10 deuce with a toss and turns, but eventually gave up the game, and in the following 6 games, they gave up 4 points in a row in a situation where they were behind 4-5, and the pursuit lost power.
Jang Woo-jin, who was driven into a pinch, exerted his strength in the last game. From the beginning, they pushed their opponents and seized the victory 8-2, and won without difficulty.
Jang Woo-jin, who suffered a shock defeat at the end of a full game in the first round of the men’s singles at the Houston Championships in the United States two years ago, shook off his pain with victory on this day. In an interview after the match, he said, “In Houston, he was eliminated in the first round, so he thought he had nothing to lose. He was trying to think that this time he would have done better than last time if he only won one game.”
Jang Woo-jin, who was a soldier right after enlisting in the last competition, entered the current competition as a discharged status. He laughed and said, “(Two years ago), I think my fighting power has increased because I was a private soldier who had just enlisted, and now I feel relieved that the military problem has been solved, so it is different, but my fighting power seems to be similar.”
In the ensuing game, Lee Sang-soo advanced to the second round by defeating Huang Yan Cheng (144th, Taiwan) 4-0 (11-7 11-6 11-8 11-3). Lee Sang-soo won the victory with an overwhelming game, not giving up a single lead throughout the game, except for the first run in 4 games.먹튀검증
Lee Sang-su, who won the bronze medal in the men’s singles at the 2017 World Championships, said after the match, “I was more nervous than in other competitions because I thought that my skills were not the same as before.” . One game is over, so I think I need to prepare well for the next game.”
Lee Sang-soo and Jo Dae-seong also participate in men’s doubles. The first opponent is Anton Kalberg-John Persson (Sweden). I played with Anton Kalberg in the same team at the Smash International Championship in Singapore this year, but now we meet as enemies.
Lee Sang-soo said, “If that player didn’t know my doubles style, it would have been a little easier, but since I know how to do it, I think I need to think more about it.” I think it will be solved.”
