South Korean table tennis player Jang Woo-jin becomes first-ever triple champion
- 6 years ago
The ongoing sports diplomacy between the two Koreas has bagged the peninsula yet another title.... as the joint table tennis team from the Koreas won the first gold in the latest round of sporting exchanges between the North and South.
Our Won Jung-hwan tells us more.
South Korean table tennis player Jang Woo-jin had himself quite a weekend,… becoming the first-ever triple champion at the Korea Open in Daejeon, a central city some 160 kilometers south of Seoul.
Before the men's singles final against Liang Jingkun of China,... Jang had already basked in gold medal glory in the mixed doubles with North Korean player Cha Hyo-sim and in the men's doubles with Lim Jong-hoon.
Of his three gold medals,… Jang said the mixed doubles title with Cha meant the most to him,… explaining it was a once-in-a-lifetime gold medal that will go down in history.
The united Korean pair overcame all odds to be crowned mixed doubles champions on Saturday,... marking the Koreas' first combined title in international table tennis since they won the women's team gold at the 1991 World Championships in Japan.
The unification of four Korean teams was part of the tournament's so-called "Ping Pong Diplomacy program" to support solidarity through table tennis,… following the recent basketball diplomacy that helped expand sports exchanges earlier this month.
But the unified team's gold-medal winning performance serves as a massive boost for the two countries' preparations ahead of the upcoming inter-Korean sporting exchanges at the 2018 Asian Games in August.
South and North Korea have agreed to field joint teams in three sports,... including women's basketball, dragon boat racing and rowing in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, the head of the global table tennis organization expressed on Sunday his long-term plans for unified Korean teams, saying he will help them pair up to play at the World Tours in Austria and Sweden,... with an aim for the teams to qualify for the 2018 World Tour Grand Finals in December.
He even mentioned the possibilty of forming a joint team at the upcoming World Championships and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 16 North Korean players, who between them won two golds and two bronzes in Daejeon, will return to North Korea on Monday.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
Our Won Jung-hwan tells us more.
South Korean table tennis player Jang Woo-jin had himself quite a weekend,… becoming the first-ever triple champion at the Korea Open in Daejeon, a central city some 160 kilometers south of Seoul.
Before the men's singles final against Liang Jingkun of China,... Jang had already basked in gold medal glory in the mixed doubles with North Korean player Cha Hyo-sim and in the men's doubles with Lim Jong-hoon.
Of his three gold medals,… Jang said the mixed doubles title with Cha meant the most to him,… explaining it was a once-in-a-lifetime gold medal that will go down in history.
The united Korean pair overcame all odds to be crowned mixed doubles champions on Saturday,... marking the Koreas' first combined title in international table tennis since they won the women's team gold at the 1991 World Championships in Japan.
The unification of four Korean teams was part of the tournament's so-called "Ping Pong Diplomacy program" to support solidarity through table tennis,… following the recent basketball diplomacy that helped expand sports exchanges earlier this month.
But the unified team's gold-medal winning performance serves as a massive boost for the two countries' preparations ahead of the upcoming inter-Korean sporting exchanges at the 2018 Asian Games in August.
South and North Korea have agreed to field joint teams in three sports,... including women's basketball, dragon boat racing and rowing in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, the head of the global table tennis organization expressed on Sunday his long-term plans for unified Korean teams, saying he will help them pair up to play at the World Tours in Austria and Sweden,... with an aim for the teams to qualify for the 2018 World Tour Grand Finals in December.
He even mentioned the possibilty of forming a joint team at the upcoming World Championships and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 16 North Korean players, who between them won two golds and two bronzes in Daejeon, will return to North Korea on Monday.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.