WHEN JANG WOO-JIN WAS UPSET, LIM JONG-HOON FINISHED IT... "I THOUGHT I WAS A TRAITOR"
When 'ace' Jang Woo-jin lost to Denmark in the quarterfinals of World Table Tennis, Lim Jong-hoon took responsibility for two wins and the next opponent was 'Great Wall' China... “Challenge with a fighting spirit”
“When (Jang) Woo-jin was struggling, I feel even better because I won next to him, said Lim Jong-hoon, who was responsible for his second win alone and gave the Korean men’s table tennis a medal at the BNK Busan Bank 2024 Busan World Table Tennis Championships."
Korea won bronze medals three times in a row in the previous World Championships team competition, from the 2016 Kuala Lumpur Games to the 2022 Chengdu Games.
At the center was Jang Woo-jin.
From the Kuala Lumpur competition, where he participated as the youngest member, to the Chengdu competition, where he participated as the eldest member, Jang Woo-jin showed great success and led the national team to the podium.
At the Busan World Championships, Jang Woo-jin played the role of an ace. 온라인카지노
From the group stage to the round of 16 against India, he never gave up a match point to his opponent.
However, Jang Woo-jin faltered in the quarterfinals against Denmark held at the BEXCO Special Stadium in Busan on the 23rd.
Jang Woo-jin appeared in the second singles match, where Korea was ahead with a match score of 1-0.
The opponent was Jonatan Groth, whom I remember meeting at the 2019 World Table Tennis (WTT) Budapest tournament and winning 4-1.
Jang Woo-jin's easy victory was expected, but the result was defeat.
Jang Woo-jin was unable to properly respond to Sang Tae's powerful forehand topspin and collapsed.
Fortunately, the juniors avenged Jang Woo-jin’s loss in a nice way.
Ahn Jae-hyun of the 3rd singles team regained the momentum with a 3-0 win, and Lim Jong-hoon followed up the 1st singles match with a 3-1 win in the 4th singles match, confirming Korea's advancement to the semifinals.
Lim Jong-hoon, who met in the joint reporting area after the game, first expressed his gratitude to Jang Woo-jin.
Lim Jong-hoon said, “Woojin hyung always managed to score 2 points (match score), so the men’s national team has never run out of medals until now.”
He added, “Today, Woojin hyung had a bit of a difficult game.
When he was struggling, I was by his side. “It feels even better that the team won,” he said.
He continued, "Because Woojin was behind me, I was able to manage the last match more creatively and win.
I'm also grateful to (Ahn) Jaehyeon who fought well in the 3rd singles match."
In 4 singles, Jong-Hoon Lim lost his first game to Groat and then won three games.
When Lim Jong-hoon gave up the game score first, Jang Woo-jin was said to have had a 'mental breakdown'.
Jang Woo-jin said, "When Jong-hoon gave me the first game, I thought to myself, 'This is a big problem.
If I lose in the 5th singles match, I'll really be a traitor. What should I do?'
“That was what I was thinking,” he said with a laugh.
He continued, "I felt relieved after Lim Jong-hoon won the second game.
He didn't have any doubts about victory."
Now the next goal is to advance to the finals for the first time in 16 years.
However, the semifinal opponent is China, the ‘world’s strongest’.
China is an absolute powerhouse challenging its 11th consecutive victory in the tournament.
Since the 1993 competition, China has reached the finals without fail.
Jang Woo-jin emphasized, “If we win 10 times, we can beat China once or twice,” and added, “Because it’s our home, I want to show hope to our fans.”
Lim Jong-hoon said, "I feel like China always knows how I will come out and is guarding the corner.
I think I need to prepare a strategy to give an irregularity.
The players requested that the citizens of Busan also show their support with 'all-out effort.'
In China, table tennis is by far the most popular sport.
At every international competition in which Chinese players participate, Chinese fans occupy the stands shouting 'Come on!' and shout 'China!'
It often creates a 'home' atmosphere.
Lim Jong-hoon said, "If this game had been played abroad today, honestly, we might have lost.
“I think we were able to win thanks to a lot of support,” he said.
“If you stop fighting with the Chinese fans and cheer loudly, we will challenge you with the mindset of a real fight.”
