South Korea's men's table tennis (WTT) Champions Montpelli has confirmed the semifinal podium in the singles.
In the 18th round of the WTT Champions Montpellier held at the Montpellier de France Arena in Montpellier, France, on the 30th 'Top Ranker'Jang Woo-jin (Sea) confirmed his advance to the quarterfinals with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Taiwan's Lin Yun-ru, and on the 31st 'Dakgong'Lee Sang-soo (Samsung Life Insurance) turned the U.S. ace Kanak Ja 3-2 (11-8, 11-8, 11-13, 4-11, 11-7) after a fierce game, and a showdown between Korean aces in the quarterfinals was made.
It is nice to see the first time in a long time that veteran Korean aces face off in the quarterfinals at the high-quality Championships, where only the world's best top rankers can participate. No matter who wins, it is Korea's singles semifinals.
Lee Sang-soo, born in 1990, is the ace among the ace players who have been Korea's top ranker for more than 10 years since the retirement of silver medal seniors (Oh Sang-eun, Joo Se-hyuk, and Yoo Seung Min) at the 2012 London Olympics. Based on its super-strong foredrive and strong physical strength, it has the power to turn Chinese top rankers Panjendong and Marong around on days when the ball fits properly. In fact, Lee Sang-soo, who beat China the most among Korean players, returned the national flag shortly after winning the men's singles title at the end of last year and said he is preparing to retire at the end of this season for his second act as a leader in his team, Samsung Life Insurance. It is said that he has decided to 'last dance' and his performance at the Champions is a waste. At the WTT Champions held in Incheon in April, he turned Felix Lebrung (France), Lingao Yuan (China), and Lin Yun-ju (Taiwan) in succession to become the first Korean player to finish second at the Champions League in six months, and showed off his strong performance by reaching the quarterfinals again. Lee Sang-soo's grit and fighting spirit are exemplary scenes for his juniors.
In an interview with WTT immediately after the game, Lee Sang-soo said, "It was okay until 2-0 at the game score, but I lost strength after losing 3 games of deuce and gave up 4 games. I thought I should push hard from the beginning in the last five games. The fact that the score widened from the middle was the factor of victory." Ahead of the showdown with Jang Woo-jin, his best friend's junior, at Montpellier Arena, where the crowd is hot, "It is blessed as a player that there are many fans at any tournament or stadium. It is the same for all male players, but I have to play well with Jang Woo-jin to win. I'll try my best to win by taking care of my condition and physical strength, but I'll try to show a more fun game" expressed his determination.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
