17-year-old Chikita Girl Park Ga-hyun, who crossed the Great Wall and won the championship, revolted to the semifinals of the all-around championship
Dec 22, 2024
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Park Ga-hyun advanced to the semifinals by winning 3-1 (6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9) against national team Lee Si-on (28, Samsung Life Insurance) in the women's singles quarterfinals of the 78th Aekyung Chemical Comprehensive Table Tennis Championships held at Samcheok Civic Gymnasium on the 22nd.
Park Ga-hyun, along with Lee Seung-eun and Choi Ye-seo, chose to join the business team Korean Air early instead of going to high school immediately after graduating from Hojdon Girls' Middle School in Daejeon last year. He proved his potential by winning a surprise WTT Feeder Autosek (Slovenia) in April this year, his second year of joining the team, and continued his storm growth by contributing to the victory by beating POSCO International veteran Kim Byul in the final of the national championship in May. In particular, he set the history of Korea's first gold medal in table tennis with his brilliant performance, scoring one point in the semifinals against China and two points in the final against Taiwan at the World Youth Table Tennis Championships last month.
Ahead of the first overall championship in a month, Park Ga-hyun, who aimed to win the singles quarterfinals or higher and the first singles title next season, is on a roll after beating his seniors one after another. In the round of 32, Ji Eun-chae (Hwaseong City Corporation) beat Seo Hyun-ji (Sangseo) in the round of 16, and in the round of 8, Lee Si-on was returned to the dream semifinals.
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Coach Joo Se-hyuk, who watched Park Ga-hyun's bench to the semifinals on the day, said, "(He is a player who will be in the top five women's team as soon as possible. I will lead the Korean women's table tennis team with Shin Yu-bin and Kim Na-young." "You have a great sense of neighborhood games and table tennis." He evaluated that the acquisition ability is fast and the growth rate is fast. "After going to the World Youth Championship, it increased again. A day or two after letting you know something new, it's already changed. A player who makes the leader feel rewarding." "Technically, the backhand is really good. Use your wrists well and have a lot of rotation. On the other hand, the forehand was lacking, but the forehand has been improving rapidly recently as it changes angles and bodies through weight training", he commented.
With table tennis players focusing on how far Park Ga-hyun's momentum will rise in the water, he will play against Yang Ha-eun of the 「Posco International Senior」 in the semifinals for a ticket to the finals. In addition, the Korean National Racing Authority's left-handed ace Choi Hyo-joo and Lee Eun-hye, who beat Joo Chun-hee 3-0 to advance to the semifinals, will compete for the final round of women's singles among naturalized Chinese players.
Meanwhile, Korean Air inflated expectations of 'Rebuilding Myeongga by posting two players in the semifinals of the women's singles at the first all-around championship since head coach Joo Se-hyuk took office in September.
sky4us@sportschosun.com
