Crumbling poker face, losing again in the final of table tennis Yoon Ji-yu. Two 銀 in Paris alone

Sep 07, 2024

Courtesy of the Korean Sports Council for the Disabled

Yoon Ji-yu (24, Seongnam City Hall) could not hide his regret. No one deserves to keep their composure well. I went to the final twice in one competition, and I lost all of them. Yoon Ji-yu finished her third Paralympic Games with two silver medals. No matter how bold your poker face is, your heart will be turned upside down.

World No. 1 Yoon Ji-yu lost to Andela Muzinic Vincentic (7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-13) in the women's singles final of table tennis (sports grade WS3) at South Paris Arena 4 in Paris, France, early on the 7th (7-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-13).

Yoon Ji-yu, who is called 'Poker Face' due to her lack of emotional agitation, looked nervous as she watched it in front of 5,000 spectators. His body was stiff and his mistakes were repeated as if he were embarrassed by the opponent's sharp attack.

Yoon Ji-yu was pushed by Andela's momentum early in the game, giving up the first set in seven minutes. He was in a hurry to receive a serve that Andela put in short, and Yoon Ji-yu's smashing aimed at the opponent's gap left the table tennis table. Yoon Ji-yu seemed to be relieved from the second set, but it was regrettable that 'one shot' was disappointing. From the 5-5 situation, he repeatedly turned the tables and turned the tables again, but Yoon Ji-yu's mistakes came out in succession at 8-8, eventually giving up two sets.

From the third set, his sharp serve and concentration were revived and he seemed to win the game. In particular, both the third and fourth sets brought the set after a close race to deuce, but led 10-9 in the fifth set, but failed to make a decision. In the end, he lost after two consecutive deuces. Yoon Ji-yu, who missed the gold medal by a small margin, looked into the air and sighed when she lost the game.

Courtesy of the Korean Sports Council for the Disabled

Yoon Ji-yu, whom I met after the game, said "I think it's too bad. He followed well, but it was a pity that he couldn't handle it when he was winning the deuce." Yoon Ji-yu, who followed well from 0-2 to 2-2, said "I decided to follow only one set at a time." Yun Ji-yu repeated the words "It's too bad" many times.

Yoon Ji-yu, who had paraplegia at the age of three, caught the racket from the age of 12. He started his career in earnest in 2014 and participated in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics (Dong1), and won two medals (Eun 1 and Dong 1) at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Yoon Ji-yu, who failed to win a gold medal at the Paralympics twice, competed in three events and sought to win the world title, but it did not come to fruition. In the women's doubles, she worked with Seo Soo-yeon (38), but lost 1-3 to China's Liu Jing (36)-Xue Zhao and missed the gold medal in the final. He was eliminated in the quarterfinals in the mixed doubles where he worked with Kim Jeong-gil (38). And I also had to be satisfied with the silver medal in the individual event. Yoon Ji-yu, who promised to compete in LA four years later, said, `I want to do better next time. I will definitely achieve my unfulfilled goals."

wman@sportschosun.com