Hard-Fought Victory Leads to Semifinals: Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon Raise Hands in Celebration [AG Video]

South Korean table tennis golden duo Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon have defeated their Taiwanese opponents to secure at least a bronze medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

World No. 1 Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin defeated Taiwan's 10th-ranked Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching 3–2 in a full-set thriller during the mixed doubles quarterfinals held on the 25th at Sky Hall Toyota in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Table tennis events at the Asian Games award bronze medals to both losers of the semifinals without holding a third-place playoff.

The Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin pair is considered the South Korean table tennis team's strongest gold medal contender at this tournament.

The next opponents for Lim and Shin will be China's world No. 6 pair of Lin Shidong and Kuai Man.

Although Lim and Shin trail 1 win and 3 losses in their head-to-head record against Lin and Kuai, they won 3–1 in their most recent encounter at the semifinals of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Finals Hong Kong in December 2025.

At that time, Lin and Kuai were ranked world No. 1, while Lim and Shin were ranked No. 2.

Riding the momentum of that victory, Lim and Shin went on to defeat China's Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha—who were then world No. 3 and comprised of singles powerhouses—in the final to claim the championship title.

Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, currently ranked world No. 2, have also advanced to the semifinals on the opposite side of the bracket.

Although Lim and Shin held a 2-win, 1-loss advantage historically against Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching, the Asian Games matchup proved to be challenging.

The match was characterized by a recurring pattern where Lim and Shin would pull ahead, only for Lin Yun-ju and Cheng I-ching to chase them down.

Even in the final fifth set, Lim's aggressive attacks successfully landed on the table to give them a 5–2 lead, but unforced errors allowed their opponents to catch up and force a 10–10 deuce.

The concentration of the world No. 1 duo shone brightest in the closing moments.

While Lim and Shin maintained steady rallies without wavering, Cheng and Lin hit consecutive shots into the net. Claiming a 12–10 victory in the final set, Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon raised both hands together to celebrate advancing to the semifinals.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.