[Nagoya AG] South Korea Ends Table Tennis Campaign With Three Bronzes... First Time Without a Single Silver Medal

South Korean table tennis failed to win even a single silver medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Since table tennis became an official event at the 1958 Tokyo Games, this marks the first time in history that South Korea has finished the Asian Games without a single silver medal in the sport.

On the 23rd, at Sky Hall in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, during the women's team semifinals table tennis match between South Korea and Japan at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the South Korean team lost 0-3 and won the bronze medal. The South Korean head coach Seok Eun-mi and the players are encouraging each other. Photo by Yonhap News.

On September 26, at Sky Hall Toyota in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, the entire South Korean national table tennis team was eliminated before reaching the semifinals in all individual events of the tournament.

Shin Yubin (Korean Air), the ace in the women’s singles quarterfinals, suffered a 0-4 defeat (9-11, 6-11, 6-11, 5-11) to Wang Manyu of China. Perhaps due to fatigue from competing in the team and mixed doubles events in succession, she was unable to perform at her best. Joo Chuenhee (Samsung Life Insurance) also put up a strong fight against Sun Yingsha of China, the world’s top player, but lost 2-4 (9-11, 12-14, 3-11, 11-7, 13-11, 8-11), failing to secure a place in the semifinals.

South Korea also faced disappointment in the doubles events. In the women’s doubles quarterfinals, the pair of Shin Yubin and Joo Chuenhee suffered a painful come-from-behind defeat to Suthasini Sawettabut and Orawan Paranang of Thailand, losing 2-3 (8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 4-11, 10-12). In the men’s doubles quarterfinals, the team of Oh Junseong and Lim Jonghoon (both from Korea Exchange) was defeated 1-3 (11-7, 4-11, 6-11, 10-12) by the Japanese duo Sora Matsushima and Shunsuke Togami.

Even Jang Woojin (SeAH), competing in the men’s singles round of 16, suffered a 0-4 defeat (7-11, 6-11, 7-11, 8-11) to Peng Yixin of Taiwan, leaving South Korea with not a single semifinalist in any individual event.

Earlier, South Korea also failed to reach the finals in both the men’s and women’s team events as well as the mixed doubles, finishing the tournament with only three bronze medals. While there have been previous Asian Games where South Korea did not win a gold medal in table tennis, this is the first time in history that the team has failed to advance to any finals and has not collected even a single silver medal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.