Shin Yubin Advances to Semifinals After Grueling Full-Set Victory Over Japan [Paris Olympics]

Japan's Hirano Wins Full-Game Thriller for Revenge
Semifinals Against China's Chen Meng, Tokyo Double Champion
One Win Away from Second Medal

Shin Yu-bin, the South Korean table tennis national representative for the Paris Olympics, secured a spot in the semifinals after an intense match.

On the 1st, at the South Paris Arena in France, Shin Yu-bin won a grueling 7-set match against Japan's Hirano Miu (ranked 13th) in the women's singles quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympics table tennis event, with a score of 4-3 (11-4 11-7 11-5 7-11 8-11 9-11 13-11).

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Hirano, whom Shin faced that day, was the player who handed Korea a defeat in the women's team semifinals at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games. At that time, Korea lost to Japan 1-3 and had to settle for the bronze medal. In that match, Shin Yu-bin played in the 1st and 4th singles matches but lost both, and Hirano's victory over Shin in the final 4th singles match sealed Korea's defeat.

Compared to 11 months ago in Hangzhou, Shin Yu-bin showed significant improvement in power, speed, and game management skills, dominating the first three games. However, Hirano launched a comeback, winning the 4th, 5th, and 6th games consecutively to even the match.

In the final 7th game, Shin Yu-bin successfully executed powerful attacks to take a 5-1 lead. But Hirano persistently closed the gap, eventually leveling the score at 10-10. After two deuces, Hirano's shots hit the net twice in a row, allowing Shin Yu-bin to secure her ticket to the semifinals. Overwhelmed with emotion after the close victory, Shin Yu-bin shed tears of joy.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Shin Yu-bin, who won a bronze medal in mixed doubles with Lim Jong-hoon (Korea Exchange) in this tournament, is now just one win away from entering the medal zone in women's singles. The last time Korean table tennis won an Olympic singles medal was 20 years ago at the 2004 Athens Games, when Yoo Seung-min won gold in men's singles and Kim Kyung-ah took bronze in women's singles.

Shin Yu-bin's next opponent is China's world No. 4 Chen Meng, who advanced by sweeping Sofia Polcanova (ranked 23rd, Austria) 4-0 (11-5 11-3 11-0 11-8) that day. Chen Meng was a dominant player through the mid to late 2010s and won two gold medals in women's singles and women's team events at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

A tough match is expected for Shin Yu-bin. Earlier, Shin faced Chen Meng in the quarterfinals of the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash in March and lost 1-4.

If Shin Yu-bin wins, she is likely to face Sun Yingsha in the final. If she loses to Chen Meng, she will compete in the third-place playoff, where her opponent is expected to be Japan's Hayata Hina (ranked 5th).