▲ Shin Yu-bin, who lost to Hina Hayata
The South Korean men's and women's national table tennis teams both fell to host nation Japan in the semifinals of the team event at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, failing to advance to the finals.
According to the Asian Games regulations where there are no third-place matches, both the men's and women's national teams concluded the team event of this tournament with bronze medals.
The men's national team lost to Japan with a match score of 0-3 in the men's team semifinals held today (September 23) at Sky Hall Toyota in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
Jang Woo-jin (SeAH), who stepped up for the first match, was caught by Sora Matsushima 1-3 (9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11).
Following that, Ahn Jae-hyun (Korea Exchange) put up a good fight against Japan's ace Tomokazu Harimoto in the second match but suffered a comprehensive 0-3 (10-12, 5-11, 9-11) defeat.
Oh Jun-sung (Korea Exchange), who played in the third match, fought a close battle with Shunsuke Togami but narrowly lost 2-3 (11-7, 6-11, 7-11, 12-10, 9-11), giving away the match.
The women's national team also suffered a comprehensive 0-3 defeat to Japan in the women's team semifinals held shortly after, missing out on a trip to the finals.
Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air), who started as the singles player in the first match, failed to overcome Hina Hayata's offensive and retreated 0-3 (6-11, 7-11, 4-11).
Having failed to take the early initiative, South Korea was pushed to the brink as even Joo Cheon-hee (Samsung Life Insurance) lost to Miwa Harimoto 0-3 (7-11, 8-11, 9-11) in the second match.
Kim Na-young (POSCO International), who competed in the final third match, also bowed down to Miyu Nagasaki 0-3 (8-11, 9-11, 7-11), finishing the game without winning a single match.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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