Active as a National Team Player Since 2014
Jeon Ji-hee (32, former Mirae Asset Securities), who has been a leading figure in Korean women's table tennis, has returned the Taeguk mark she wore on her chest.
According to Yonhap News on the 27th, Jeon Ji-hee left for China without participating in the country's most prestigious comprehensive championship held in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, from the 17th to the 24th. It is known that she consulted with her team about her future career before her contract ended and expressed her intention to quietly retire.
Kim Taek-soo, the general director of Mirae Asset Securities, explained, "When we brought Jeon Ji-hee from POSCO Energy two years ago, she was seriously considering retirement, but this year she achieved a bronze medal in the women's team event at the Paris Olympics," adding, "We accepted her decision not to continue her athletic career in Korea."
On August 10th (local time), Jeon Ji-hee of Korea competed against Sun Xiaona in the third match of the women's team bronze medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the South Paris Arena in Paris, France. Photo by Yonhap News
Along with this, she also gave up her position on the Korean national team. Jeon Ji-hee was ranked 17th in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) world rankings, the second highest among domestic female players after Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air, world rank 10). Although she was expected to be automatically selected for the national team next year by ranking within the top three based on combined domestic and international competition results, another player will take her place as Jeon Ji-hee has relinquished the Taeguk mark.
As a result, the 'golden combo' with Shin Yu-bin will no longer be seen. Jeon Ji-hee and Shin Yu-bin won the women's doubles title at the Hangzhou Asian Games last August. The women's doubles gold medal at the Asian Games was the first in 21 years since the 2002 Busan Games. In August at the Paris Olympics, they also teamed up to secure a bronze medal, the first Olympic medal for Korean women's table tennis in 16 years.
Jeon Ji-hee, originally from Langfang, Hebei Province, China, was naturalized in 2011. She has represented Korea as a national team member for over 10 years, from the 2014 Incheon Asian Games to the Paris Olympics.
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