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| Family man who ran with the names and birth dates of his wife Park Young-sook, son, and daughter engraved on his right forearm, Dakgong Lee Sang-soo. Photo courtesy of the late Ahn Sung-ho, monthly table tennis reporter |
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'End of 17 years of passionate dedication... Retired and fresh start as coach!'
Samsung Life Table Tennis Team will hold a retirement ceremony for Lee Sang-soo (35, Samsung Life Insurance, 19th in the world) on the 5th. The event will be attended by teammates, Samsung Life's coaching staff, including head coach Lee Chul-seung and head coach Chae Yoon-seok, and club officials to spend their last time as Lee Sang-soo's player who has devoted himself to the team for a long time.
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| photo courtesy of Ahn Sung-ho, monthly table tennis reporter |
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Lee Sang-soo is a one-club man who has been active only in Samsung Life for 17 years since joining the team in 2009. He is one of the ace players who has been Korea's top rankers 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 the strong foredrive, strong physical strength, unwavering mentality, and thorough self-management, it has the power to turn Chinese top rankers Panjendong and Marong around on days that fit properly. He maintained his semifinal ranking in the singles at major international competitions until just before retirement, showing his brilliant professionalism to finish with 19th place in the world.
"Lee Sang-soo, a leading Korean table tennis star in the 2010s and a symbol of Korean table tennis, has been trusted by the team and fans for his strong determination, spirit of prioritizing team play, and silent leadership." he noted.
Lee Sang-soo recorded 652 wins and 372 losses at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) event after winning his first national flag in 2009. At the World Championships, he won one silver medal and seven bronze medals, including a silver medal in mixed doubles with left-handed ace Park Young-sook, who became his wife at the 2013 Paris Games, and a bronze medal in men's singles at the 2017 Dusseldorf Games. At the Asian Games, he won one silver medal and one bronze medal, and was recorded as the leading star and longest-serving player of Korean table tennis in major competitions. Lee Sang-soo won the men's singles title at the general championship last year, but returned the national flag with the thought that he should give his juniors a chance, and made it to the finals, semifinals, and quarterfinals in succession at this year's WTT tournament, leaving a great inspiration and lesson for his juniors with his best skills until the end. Lee Sang-soo became the first Korean player to finish second at the WTT Champions in Incheon in April, beating Felix LeBrug (France), Lingao Yuan (China), and Lin Yun-ju (Taiwan), and then in October, six months later, he reached the quarterfinals again at the WTT Champions Montpellier and the semifinals in Frankfurt, showing a brilliant 'last dance'. Many people were dissuaded from retirement, but Lee Sang-soo decided to make the second act of his life as scheduled, with his rust-free skills surpassing his juniors, a lack of ranking to be invited to next year's Champions Series. An official from Samsung Life Insurance said, `Lee Sang-soo is the history of Samsung Life itself,' adding, `We deeply appreciate the contribution and dedication he has made to the team over the years. I look forward to your great performance in your new role" he said
Lee Sang-soo will end his career with this retirement ceremony and start his second act and new career as a coach for Samsung Life Women's Table Tennis Team in the future. Expectations are high on the impact of coach Lee Sang-soo, a senior player of the "Baekjeon Veteran Dakgong" on Joo Chun-hee, who is rapidly growing ahead of the Nagoya-Aichi Asian Games next year.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
