Let's play a fun game until the end of Lee Sang-soo's first WTT Champions final match

Apr 06, 2025

"Let's have fun cheering for them!"

Lee Sang-soo (35, Samsung Life Insurance, 45th in the world) made the history of advancing to the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions for the first time in the history of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions in the presence of his leading seniors such as Lee Yoo Seung Min, chairman of the Korean Sports Council, and Lee Dong-guk.

Lee Sang-soo won the game score 4-2 to Lin Yun-ju of Taiwan's left-handed ace in the semifinals of the men's singles at the World Table Tennis Champions (WTT) Incheon Inspire Arena on the afternoon of the 6th.

On this day, welcome faces stood out in the semifinals of Lee Sang-soo and Lin Yun-ju. Chairman of the Korean Sports Association Yoo Seung Min, Chairman Yoo and Chairman Lee Dong-guk, Lee Tae-sung, Chairman of the Korea Table Tennis Association, Vice Chairman Hyun Jung-hwa, Vice Chairman Yoo Nam-gyu, and Chairman Kim Taek-soo of Jincheon National Training Center were also present. Amid cheers from table tennis fans, Lee Dong-guk went on a 'coin toss' to determine the order of Lee Sang-soo and Lin Yun-ju's serve, and tapped Lee Sang-soo on the shoulder of 'Dakgong' to express his support.

Lee Sang-soo gave up 1 game 5-11 but brought 2 games 11-5 to balance the game score 1-1. Early in the third game, he struggled behind Lin Yun-ju's Chiquita, but won 9-8, 11-9 after succeeding in the reverse, and finished 11-2 with 4 games, a Dak-gong exploding. I was shaken maybe because I was excited after taking my first point with a 5-game cartoon-like forehand rally. 8-11, game score 3-2. However, he scored three points in six games 7-7 to secure a match point and finished 11-9, winning 4-2. Lee Sang-soo, a veteran born in 1990, overwhelmed Lin Yun-ju, who was born in 2001. Lee Sang-soo will compete with the winner of the Patrik Francisca-Xiang Peng semifinal at 8 p.m. that day.

Lin Yun-ju's proprietary banana flick failed to use its power. This is the result of former veteran Lee Sang-soo's meticulous research and rigorous practice of the game against left-handed ace, which was his weakness. They overwhelmed Lin Yun-ju in the struggle. Lee Sang-soo looked back on "I think I would have been at a disadvantage technically and technically, but the factor of today's victory was that I didn't let him do well." "He was so good at the first point rally that he got excited and shook afterwards." "As the adrenaline exploded, it was not hard at all until then, but after that point, I lost some strength. So it slowed down a little bit, but as I prepared for the next game, I ate the power gel, calmed down, and started again, and I got better.'

Photo by Ahn Sung-ho, a late reporter at the monthly tabletop

Lee Sang-soo was originally a one-shot one-kill, one-shot type that overwhelmed the opponent with a single shot. However, his style of play in this tournament has changed. Based on the solid reception, neither the connection nor the rally seems to be behind the opponent. Lee Sang-soo said "I'm not good at scoring points at rallies, but something is going very well for this tournament. As the probability increases when connecting, the results follow. When it's time to end, things that didn't suddenly work out are done," he said with a smile. Lee Cheol-seung, head coach of Samsung Life Insurance, said "Maybe because there is no psychological burden, the game management is comfortable, and the game style is changing more sophisticated as time goes by." he complimented.

Lee Sang-soo is the first Korean player to advance to the final of the WTT Champions. Lee Sang-soo seems to be " Lim Jong-hoon has gone to the semifinals in the past, and as far as I know, I'm the first one to do so." After winning the all-around men's singles title last year, he retired from the national team and said, `I will make way for my juniorsLee Sang-soo, who had expressed his intention ", flew back to the dazzling Dakgong on a spring day. 'I don't think I can retireLee Sang-soo is not sure when he says " For now, I'm not even thinking about that. I'm going to focus on the one game in front of me later. You can think about it later again," he said with a smile. When asked about the secret to making table tennis better after retirement, Lee Sang-soo said, `I think it's mentally helpful to let go of my mind. When I wore the national flag, I felt a lot of pressure, but now I'm coming out as a team and individual anyway, so I'm thinking about doing everything I have but enjoying it, but I think it's working out well," he replied.

In the stands of the stadium, Lee Dong-guk, the icon of Jeonbuk Dakgong, and Lee Yoo Seung Min, the president of the Korea Sports Council, sat side by side to cheer for Lee Sang-soo's 'Dakgong'.Thanks to the support of Chairman Yoo Seung Min, a senior member of Samsung Life Insurance, Na Dong-joong, Lee Sang-soo wrote the history of going to the finals for the first time in history. Lee Sang-soo laughed, saying "The chairman briefly said 'He's good all of a sudden'." "As a junior, he took care of me a lot as a player. You still say a lot of good things. When I was a member of the IOC at the 2016 Rio Olympics, I was also participating as an athlete and watched the president win the election. I felt that I had to do that to do something well until the end. I really respect you as an athlete and a person for showing such an example," he said. About meeting with Lee Dong-guk "Dakgong Senior "I met him for the first time today. I didn't care because I don't think about anything else before the game. It would be amazing to see you again now. Thank you for your support" expressed his feelings. "I'm so glad that I was able to show you a good game and a fun game with the chairman and seniors watching." I promise to show you a really fun game and a great game in the rest of the finals."

Coach Lee Cheol-seung, who has been in the same league with Lee Sang-soo for 16 years since 2009, turned to the mixed zone's lover, saying, `I think Sang-soo will have a big accident in the final today," he said with a happy smile.

Reporter Jeon Young-ji sky4us@sportschosun.com

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.