South Korea Men's Table Tennis Team Wins Silver at Asian Championships After Loss to China

South Korean table tennis fell short of overcoming China, capturing the silver medal in the men's team event at the Asian Championships for the first time in five years.

The South Korean men's national team finished as the runner-up after losing 3 to 0 to China in the final of the 2026 29th Asian Table Tennis Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on the 23rd (Korea Standard Time).

Having won a silver medal at the 2021 tournament, South Korea reached the final once again after five years to secure a medal of the same color.

At the 2021 tournament, China did not participate in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This silver medal is all the more valuable as South Korea fielded a virtual "B-team" for the men's squad, excluding key players such as Jang Woo-jin (SeA) and Im Jong-hun (Korea Exchange) who competed in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Kang Dong-su (ranked 158th, Samsung Life Insurance), who pulled off a major upset in the semifinals by defeating Japanese ace Tomokazu Harimoto (ranked 3rd), lost 1 to 3 (8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 9-11) to Zhou Qihao (ranked 13th) in the first singles match of the final, giving China the early advantage.

Subsequently, Park Gyu-hyun (ranked 80th) lost 0 to 3 (11-13, 8-11, 6-11) to Lin Shidong (ranked 9th), and Park Gang-hyeon (ranked 46th, Mirae Asset Securities) was defeated 1 to 3 (12-14, 7-11, 11-9, 7-11) by Xiang Peng (ranked 33th), confirming South Korea's runner-up finish.

The women's national team secured a bronze medal after losing to China in the semifinals.

Starting from the 23rd local time, fierce competition will continue in individual events, including men's and women's singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles.

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