"Son Heung-min, Don't Mess with the Table Tennis Player"... Table Tennis Federation Also Mocks Korean Football

Posted Mocking Content About National Soccer Team on X
"Isn't This Promotion for the World Table Tennis Championships?" Interpretation Emerges

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) mocked the 'Table Tennis Gate' within the South Korean national football team. Among sports fans, there is an interpretation that the ITTF essentially ridiculed Lee Kang-in by treating him as a table tennis player, sparking controversy. World Table Tennis (WTT), a subsidiary of the ITTF, posted on its official X (formerly Twitter) account on the 14th, saying, "Don't mess with table tennis players, Son," adding, "Especially regarding the 2024 World Table Tennis Championships held in Korea."

The accompanying photo showed Son Heung-min clutching his head with a dislocated finger, along with the caption, "Son Heung-min dislocated his finger while stopping teammates who were about to leave early after dinner to play table tennis the day before the shocking Asian Cup semifinal loss." Currently, the post cannot be found on X. Some interpret this as mocking the Table Tennis Gate while promoting the World Table Tennis Championships. Others see it as a caution against the negative impact the Table Tennis Gate might have on the World Table Tennis Championships.

World Table Tennis (WTT) posted on the official X (formerly Twitter) on the 14th, saying, "Don't mess with the table tennis players, Son," adding, "Especially regarding the 2024 World Table Tennis Championships held in Korea." The post is currently not available on X. [Photo by X (formerly Twitter)]

The Table Tennis Gate incident occurred the day before the semifinal match against Jordan during the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. Some young players, including Lee Kang-in, were about to play table tennis after dinner when a conflict with captain Son Heung-min exploded, leading to a physical altercation. Domestic netizens reacted to the post with comments such as, "It seems like a joke by the World Table Tennis Federation to promote table tennis, so we can just laugh it off," "This incident has made Korean football an international laughingstock. It's embarrassing," and "No matter how much it's to promote the World Table Tennis Championships, this seems to have crossed the line."

The World Table Tennis Championships are being held in Busan from the 16th to the 25th. The South Korean men's and women's table tennis teams both finished the group stage undefeated with four wins each. In this tournament, 40 countries for both men and women are divided into eight groups of five teams each for the group stage. The top 1 to 3 teams from each group advance to the round of 24 knockout stage to determine the champion. Group winners advance directly to the round of 16, while second and third place teams go through playoffs. The knockout opponents for the South Korean men's and women's teams, who advanced directly to the round of 16, will be decided on the afternoon of the 20th, with the round of 16 starting on the 21st.