Table Tennis Player Park Jin-cheol Wins Third Consecutive Asian Para Games Singles Title, Defeating Kim Kyung-hyun

Table tennis player Park Jin-cheol has claimed his third consecutive men's singles title at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games.

Park defeated teammate Kim Kyung-hyun 3-0 in the men's singles (sports class 2) final of the tournament held at Sky Hall Toyota in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Park has now climbed to the top of the podium following his victories at the 2018 Jakarta and 2022 Hangzhou Games.

Kim Kyung-hyun, who transitioned from swimming, claimed a silver medal in his first international multisport event as a national table tennis player.

The final match was also a showdown between the senior who opened the door to table tennis for him and the junior who picked up a racket following in his footsteps.

After the match, Park Jin-cheol said, "After winning against all the foreign players in the semifinals and confirming an all-Korean final, I honestly felt relieved." He added, "Since this was Kim Kyung-hyun's first major competition, he was very nervous and couldn't fully showcase his original skills."

Kim Kyung-hyun said, "Just being able to compete on the stage of a final with the player I considered my role model was a huge honor."

Kim is a former national swimmer who won three gold medals at the 2010 Guangzhou and 2014 Incheon Asian Para Games.

The turning point for him to decide to switch sports while working as a playing coach for a corporate team was a table tennis match video from the Tokyo Paralympics that he happened to watch on YouTube.

The player on the screen was Park Jin-cheol.

Kim Kyung-hyun mustered the courage to send an Instagram direct message (DM) to Park.

Along with introducing himself as a former swimmer, he conveyed his desire to take on the challenge of table tennis after watching the match video.

Park Jin-cheol, who usually does not check messages from strangers, was moved by the sincerity contained in the long message.

Reflecting on the moment, Park said, "It was so long that I clicked on it wondering 'what is this,' and I could feel that it was written with great care, stroke by stroke."

Park Jin-cheol told Kim that he would speak with his team so that Kim could train together with him in Gwangju once he received his Class 2 classification.

He also had a desire to team up with him as a doubles partner.

After receiving his classification, Kim trained alongside Park in Gwangju starting in 2024 as an unpaid trainee.

The two subsequently moved their affiliation together to the Seoul Sports Council for the Disabled.

While training together, Kim learned Park's know-how in technical aspects such as chopping.

Park described such a junior as his "sore finger" (a term of affection for someone who causes worry or requires special care).

He remarked, "He works really hard, but compared to that, it feels like his skills aren't improving quickly enough."

When asked if it wasn't already remarkable to reach the final just a few years after taking up the sport, he laughed and said, "That is remarkable, but my standards are a bit high."

Having faced each other in the singles, the two will team up starting on the 21st to pursue a gold medal in the men's doubles (MD4).

If they reach the top together, Park Jin-cheol will achieve his third consecutive double crown at the Asian Para Games.

For Kim Kyung-hyun, it would mark his return to the top of the Asian Para Games podium through table tennis, 12 years after winning a swimming gold medal at the 2014 Incheon Games.

(Photo courtesy of the Korea Paralympic Committee, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.