"Female middle school ace" Heo Ye-rim (Hwaseong City Corporation U15, Hwaseong Song San-joong) became the women's high school champion at the 71st National Men's and Women's Table Tennis Championships.
Heo Ye-rim won the 71st National Men's and Women's Class Table Tennis Championships at Gangneung Arena on the 27th by beating Jeong Ye-in (11-7, 11-7, 11-8, Hwaseong City Corporation) by a score of 3-0 (11-7, 11-8) in the women's high school singles. Heo Ye-rim was born on November 11, 2010 and is still a middle school-age cadet player and is in the third grade of Songsan Middle School in Hwaseong. According to the regulations of the Korea Table Tennis Association, which made it possible for the individual exhibition only, Heo Ye-rim participated in the women's high school team, and from the 64th to the 4th, she beat Kim Soo-ji (Anyang Girls' High School), Yoon Ha-young (Hosu-don Girls' High School), Kim Yeo-won (Hosu-don Girls' High School), Moon Cho-won (Sangseo High School), and Park Ye-ryeong (Sangseo High School). In particular, Moon Cho-won, who was the quarterfinals opponent, was the defending champion of this tournament.
Heo Ye-rim's victory in the middle school and high school is not seen as an "unexpected event" in the table tennis world. The atmosphere is recognized as a rising star who surpasses Junior beyond Cadet and as a cotyledon who will succeed Shin Yu-bin and Kim Na-young. Along with Jung Ye-seo, Heo Ye-rim won all the competitions in the women's middle school doubles and women's team tournaments.
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| Photo provided by Rep. Ahn Sung-ho of Monthly Tablets |
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Heo Ye-rim, who caught a ping-pong racket at the age of six at the recommendation of his uncle, a table tennis teammate, was recognized as the best in class since his days in Yonggok Elementary School in Cheonan. I turned my sisters around one after another with the Angkaljin foredrive. In January 2023, as an elementary school student, he won three consecutive wins against middle and high school seniors and advanced to the individual singles finals to stardom, and in April of that year, a first-year middle school student beat her sisters to the singles final for the girls' middle school, making headlines again. Despite his young age and small size, he fell in love with table tennis players at a glance with bold and fierce offensive table tennis. Seah Group, which became the chairman of the Table Tennis Association, also paid early attention to Heo Ye-rim's growth potential and signed a sponsorship contract for Heo Ye-rim alongside Lee Seung-soo. Heo Ye-rim missed the final championship last year in the process of moving her team to Hwaseong City Corporation, but she has continued to grow by steadily participating in the WTT tournament with Se-ah's support and special support from her team. Heo Ye-rim is proving her international competitiveness by winning the Youth Contender Mets 2025 U17 singles and the Star Contender Doha 2025 U19 singles in the WTT Youth Series held from February to April this year. Heo Ye-rim, who is 14 years old, is currently 184th in the senior ranking of ITTF, 3rd in U19 and 2nd in U17 and 1st in U15.
Kim Won-geun of the future national team, who watched Heo Ye-rim play in the field, said, "(He has a very sharp and tricky offensive pitch for his age. As proved in this competition, he has outstanding potential. I am looking forward to the future even more as I am gaining various experiences through many international competitions" he evaluated. `If we have a system that can supplement our defense capabilities and lead to counterattacks, we will grow into a more scary player.'
Heo Ye-rim said in an interview right after winning the championship that `it was less burdensome than middle school because it was a game with my sisters. I did it with confidence that it was okay to lose, but I'm happy to win." "I was very nervous when I played with (Moon) Cho Won in the quarterfinals. I lost my first game, and I was able to turn the tables very hard. The advice of the teachers was very helpful."
Sun Ying-sha was cited as a role model he wanted to resemble. "No matter how tense the competition is, it is admirable that he does not lose his composure and calmly demonstrates his skills." Heo Ye-rim's goal is only 'Olympic Medals', who studies in Songsan Middle School in the morning, trains at Hwaseong City Corporation Gymnasium in the afternoon and at night, and continues the hard work of student athletes. "My goal is to go to the Olympics and win a medal. Seah Group and our team Hwaseong City Corporation teachers help us a lot. I'll try hard to repay you." he said with a twinkle in his eyes. "I'm going to participate in the WTT Thailand competition soon, and I'll do well from there." delivered his pledge.
Reporter Jeon Young-ji sky4us@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
