Seo Seong-hee (37, Gyeongbuk Para Athletic Association) and Kim Ki-tae (25, Busan Para Athletic Association) joined Korean table tennis’ golden streak in the upset.
The pair defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chen Poyen and Li Jing-shan 3-2 (9-11 4-11 11-6 11-9 11-9) in the mixed doubles final of the Hangzhou Para Asian Games XD22 on Sunday at the Gungshu Canal Sports Park Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China.
In July, they pulled off a thrilling upset of their opponents at the 2023 Korea Open International Para Table Tennis Championships.
Kim Ki-tae’s powerful drive set the tone for the game, and Korea’s aggressive offense forced their opponents into errors. However, they were unable to respond to Taiwan’s counterattack and fell behind in game one.
Korea panicked at the start of game two, giving up four unanswered shots, and focused to pull within three points. However, they were unable to stop Chun Poyen’s attack and fell behind again, and Kim Ki-tae’s back-to-back errors put them down by two games.
Faced with defeat, South Korea attacked aggressively in game three, but Taiwan put up a solid defense to keep the game close.
However, Kim Ki-tae’s quick attack saved the day.
The fourth game was a back-and-forth battle with the score tied at 6-6, but Seo stabilized her game to take the match to the final game. Down 7-9 in the fifth game, the Koreans completed the upset with back-to-back errors from Chen Po-yen and an attack from Kim Ki-tae.
“We were down early in the match, so after the second game, we said, ‘Let’s just do what we do best,'” said Seo Seong-hee, who won her first gold medal at the Para-Asian Games. I served and defended, and Kim Ki-tae focused on attacking, and it worked.”
Kim Ki-tae, who won the men’s singles and doubles titles at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, was at 메이저사이트 the peak of his powers last year when he won three World Championship titles. He won a bronze medal in the singles event and the mixed doubles title.
“My final opponent was very strong, so I expected to finish second. I was very nervous, but I cleared my mind halfway through and it worked out well,” he said.