'Korea Shuttlecock Cruise' Brigade Kim Ga-eun, No. 1 in the group, 'From hell to heaven' after a close contest of the round of 16 contest
Jul 31, 2024
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Women's mixed doubles and men's doubles (Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk) confirmed their advance to the quarterfinals, followed by women's singles Kim Ga-eun (26, Samsung Life Insurance).
Kim Ga-eun, ranked 17th in the world, beat Ko Jin-way of Malaysia 2-1 (21-17, 20-22, 23-21) in the final Group H match of the women's singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics at Port Drachapel Stadium in Paris, France on the 31st (Korea time).
With this, Kim Ga-eun was the first Korean singles player to advance to the round of 16 with a 2-1 loss and No. 1 in the group.
It was a sweat and tears victory. Against the world's 32nd-ranked opponent, Kim Ga started smoothly with a lead of 21-17 in one game, but her concentration was briefly disturbed at the end of the second game, and she lost in a close game of deuce and brought the game to square one.
However, Kim Ga-eun, who entered the interval (break time after reaching 11 points) with a close lead in the three games of fate, widened the score gap by inducing the opponent's mistakes with her defense and skillful court management.
At one point, he ran to a five-point gap and seemed to win unless something unexpected happened. But the goddess of victory did not easily send a smile. As Kim Ga-eun self-destructed, she allowed the opponent to chase hard, driving to 18-20, just before losing, and succeeded in 20-20 deuce thanks to the opponent's error.
Later, Kim Ga-eun, who had a chance to turn the game around with a Pimali match and a 21-21 second deuce, refocused her concentration again, and won with an exquisite attack on the back space and a finishing smash.
cms@sportschosun.com
