'3 Successful Korean Table Tennis, Finally Smashing' New Aces Kim Ki-tae, Korean Team 5th Gold Medal

Sep 06, 2024

Korean Para Table Tennis New Ace Kim Ki-tae finally won his first gold medal in table tennis and the fifth gold medal of the Korean team at the men's singles held at South Paris Arena 4 in Paris, France on the 6th. Kim Ki-tae hits a powerful drive smash in the final. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Korean table tennis has finally won a gold medal after the 2024 Paris Paralympics '3 Su'.

It was Kim Ki-tae (26, Seoul Metropolitan Government) who released the Korean table tennis team's 'Gold medal aspirations', which experienced two finals losses. The answer was 'Dakgong Ping Pong'.

table tennis New ace Kim Ki-tae gave the Korean team its fifth gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. It is the first gold medal in table tennis. Kim Ki-tae stood alone at the top of the awards ceremony after winning the championship by beating Taiwan's Jeon Je-yan 3-1 in the final on the 6th. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

He won the moon. It was the first gold medal for the Korean table tennis team and the fifth gold medal for the Korean team at the Paris Paralympics. As a result, Korea succeeded in achieving its original goal of '5 gold medals'.

Kim Ki-tae defeated Taiwan's Jeon Je-yan 3-1 (3-1 11-15-13 11-7 11-9) in the men's singles (MS11) final at South Paris Arena 4 in Paris, France, early on the 6th (Korea time). It was Kim Ki-tae's first Paralympic gold medal. Kim Ki-tae finally won his first gold medal at the Paralympics, following the World Championships and the Asian Para Games, and completed the `Career Grand Slam.'

table tennis New ace Kim Ki-tae finally won his first gold medal in table tennis and the fifth gold medal of the Korean team at the men's singles held at South Paris Arena 4 in Paris, France on the 6th. As soon as Kim Ki-tae wins the final, Chung Jin-wan, chairman of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled, is cheering. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

It was a thrilling come-from-behind victory. Kim Ki-tae seemed nervous in the first set and fired an attack that put too much power into it. The forehand and backhand are a little bit, but they're off the table. It quickly became 0-5 and eventually lost the first set 3-11 without narrowing the gap.

The ridiculous defeat in the first set rather made Kim Ki-tae 'awakening'. He came out with a completely different performance from the second set. It was effective to make some changes to the steel ball side. When he mixed the short cut with the river smash, Jeon Je-yan was taken aback. Kim Ki-tae ran to 9–6, but allowed 10–10 deuce to Jeon's counterattack. A breathtaking deuce battle ensued. It went to 13-13, but Kim Ki-tae's two strong smashes were stamped on the table to make the set score 1-13.

table tennis New ace Kim Ki-tae finally won his first gold medal in table tennis and the fifth gold medal of the Korean team at the men's singles held at South Paris Arena 4 in Paris, France on the 6th. Kim Ki-tae, who won the final, is being congratulated by Chung Jin-wan, chairman of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled. Presented by the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

From the third set, the flow completely came toward Kim Ki-tae. In the third set 3-3, Kim Ki-tae tied the opponent's mistake and strong ball to make a 7-3 run. He then finished the set with a backhand drive at 10-7. Kim Ki-tae, who gained momentum, took an early lead with a score of 5-1. Jeon Jeon Jeon-yen went on a chase, but she couldn't overwhelm Kim Ki-tae's energy that had already burned. Kim Ki-tae blew the final shot at 10-9 and held the gold medal in his arms.

table tennis New ace Kim Ki-tae finally won his first gold medal in table tennis and the fifth gold medal of the Korean team at the men's singles held at South Paris Arena 4 in Paris, France on the 6th. Kim Ki-tae (2nd left) taking a commemorative photo with medalists after the award ceremony. Courtesy of the Korea Sports Council for the Disabled

Kim Ki-tae, who discovered the disability during a hospital examination in 2011 when he was 13, started exercising at his father's recommendation when he was in the third grade of elementary school. At the 2022 World Championships, he won three gold medals in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, emerging as the sacredness of the national team. He also won a bronze medal in singles, a gold medal in men's doubles, and a gold medal in mixed doubles at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games held last year.

However, she continued to fail to win a medal on the Paralympic stage. He finished fourth in singles at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and finished ninth in singles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. So he always expressed his strong will, saying, `I will win the gold medal at the Paralympics, the biggest competition.' His will led to the valuable fruit of the gold medal at the Paris Paralympics.

wman@sportschosun.com