'Korea Exchange Walkle Duo' Lim Jong-hoon and Ahn Jae-hyun recaptured the men's doubles gold medal at the Asian Championship for the first time in 32 years.
Lim Jong-hoon and Ahn Jae-hyun's team won the Asian Table Tennis Championships final at Astana Birein Arena in Kazakhstan on the 13th (Korea time)?They defeated Joe 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-6).
Lim Jong-hoon and Ahn Jae-hyun's group are Hong Kong Wong Chun-ting and Chan Bal-win in the quarterfinals, and Japan Dogami in the semifinals??He beat Hirotozo Ske-Shinozuka one after another to reach the final. In the final, Lim Jong-hoon of the left hand and Ahn Jae-hyun of the right hand won the game with an overwhelming performance against Singapore's divinity.
Men's doubles were a series of upsets. No. 1 seed China's Lingao Yuen-Linxi Dongjo was held back by the Malaysian team, and Japan's Harimoto Tomokazu-Matsushima Sorajo, who was the favorite to win, lost to the Singapore team, which reached the final. Singapore continued its momentum by turning Malaysia, which beat China in the semifinals, but failed to become a match for Lim Jong-hoon and Ahn Jae-hyun. Lim Jong-hoon, who collaborated with Shin Yu-bin to win the mixed doubles bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, and Ahn Jae-hyun, a technician who shines in the men's singles bronze medal at the World Championships, did not miss the opportunity for the strongest teams in China and Japan to be eliminated. He cheered with Yoon Jae-young, the coach of the national team, and a senior from the 'double legend'.
Im Jong-hoon and Ahn Jae-hyun are alumni of Daejeon Dongsan High School, a famous table tennis player in Daejeon. Lim Jong-hoon has been working together since his school days as a two-year senior, and he reunited as a fantastic doubles group when Lim Jong-hoon transferred to the Korea Exchange, where Ahn Jae-hyun plays, last year. He showed his best teamwork by winning the business table tennis championship last year, and proved his international competitiveness by lifting two cups at last year's WTT contenders Antalya and Rio competitions.
The only Korean men's table tennis to win the men's doubles title at the Asian Championships was the gold medal of the 11th tournament, Kang Hee-chan and Lee Cheol-seung, which was held in New Delhi, India in 1992. Although he has consistently maintained the semifinals or higher, he has no connection with the gold medal. At last year's PyeongChang competition at home ground, South Korea also won two bronze medals. The medal of the Lim Jong-hoon and Ahn Jae-hyun group is the first in 32 years to visit Korean table tennis and the second men's doubles gold medal in the history of the Asian Championships.
