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| Photo provided by Ahn Sung-ho, a monthly tabloid reporter |
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| Photo provided by Ahn Sung-ho, a monthly tabloid reporter |
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Lee Seung-soo (Daejeon Dongsan Middle School) took a step closer to the first national flag in his life.
In the second round of the men's national table tennis team's second round of the 2025 national table tennis team at Jecheon Gymnasium in Chungcheongbuk-do on the 19th, Lee Seung-soo turned back his seniors, including Park Chan-hyuk (Korea Racing Authority), Kim Min-ho (TL table tennis team), Park Chang-gun (Boram Hallelujah), and Ahn Joon-young (Incheon Facilities Corporation), and confirmed his advance to the final round with all four wins of 'Flagjise'.
Lee Seung-soo, who recorded 7 wins and 2 losses in the first round of selection, also showed his strong offense in the second round of selection and reached the final round as No. 1 in the group. If Lee Seung-soo, who was born in August 2011 and is selected as a member of the national team of the Korea Sports Association, who is 13 years and five months old, is selected in the top 10 in the final match, he could change the record of the youngest national team in men's table tennis history. Hwang Min-ha (then a sophomore at Naedong Middle School in Bucheon), who was recommended to foster the next generation at the 2013 Paris World Championships, will challenge a new history in 12 years. In the previous men's table tennis history, only three players wearing the Taegeuk mark in middle school are Yoo Nam-gyu (the coach of the Korea Exchange, a third grader at Busan Nam Middle School at the time), Yoo Seung Min (the president-elect of the Korea Sports Council, a third grader at Bucheon Naedong Middle School at the time), and Hwang Min-ha. The youngest record for a women's table tennis national team is 14 years, 11 months and 16 days of Shin Yoo-bin (Korean Air).
This year's national table tennis team will be divided into a national team recognized by the Korean Sports Association and a national team operated by the Korean Table Tennis Association and a national team operated by the Korean Table Tennis Association. Twenty men and women will qualify for the national team, but the national team recognized by the Korea Sports Council, which is the first team, is the existing national team that will represent Korea on international stages such as the World Championship.
Players who have passed the first and second rounds will play the final selection match against last year's national teams in a full league. In addition to Jang Woo-jin (Se-ah), Oh Jun-sung (Mirae Asset Securities), and Cho Dae-sung (Samsung Life Insurance), who were first selected according to the association's ranking regulations, seven people will participate in the men's division, including Im Jong-hoon (Korea Exchange), Park Kyu-hyun (Mirae Asset Securities), Park Kang-hyun (TL Table Tennis Team), Woo Hyung-kyu (Mirae Asset Securities), Kim Dong-hyun (Korea Exchange), and Jang Sung-il (TL Table Tennis Team). Lee Seung-soo, Kim Min-hyuk (Korea Water Resources Corporation), Choi In-hyuk (Boram Hallelujah), Jang Han-jae (Korea Water Resources Corporation), Seo Jung-won (Hwaseong City Corporation), Kim Jang-won (Korea Military Sports Unit), Kwak Yoo-bin (Korea Exchange), Cho Seung-min (Samsung Life), Park Jung-woo (Korea Water Resources Corporation), and Park Chan-hyuk (Korea Racing Authority) will face off against the players who passed the first and second games.
In the case of the women's team, in addition to Shin Yoo-bin (Korean Air), Lee Eun-hye (Korean Air), and Joo Chun-hee (Samsung Life Insurance), who were first selected by ranking regulations, Lee Si-on (Samsung Life Insurance), Yoon Hyo-bin (Mirae Asset Securities), Kim Na-young (Posco International), Park Ga-hyun (Korean Air), Yang Ha-eun (Posco International), and Yoo Han-na (Posco International), who passed the first and second rounds, were withdrawn due to injuries.
In the case of the women's team, a blood-splitting Taegeuk mark war between Chinese naturalized players is predicted due to the changed regulations starting this year. In December last year, the Korea Table Tennis Association's performance improvement committee restricted the selection of naturalized players among the 10 national team members recognized by the Korea Sports Association. It also stated that in principle, a maximum of one naturalized player will be selected for the dispatched national team (five) in 2025. Last year's 'Paris Olympics women's team bronze medal' was the result of a collaboration between two naturalized players, Jeon Ji-hee and Lee Eun-hye, along with Shin Yu-bin. Jeon Ji-hee announced her retirement from the national team at the end of last year, but the existing representatives Lee Eun-hye and Joo Chun-hee are in good shape, and Choi Hyo-joo and Kim Ha-young, who passed the first and second trials, are expected to have a fiery match. The final selection match, in which 17 men and 16 women will play full-league games, will be held at Jecheon Gymnasium from the 21st to the 24th.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
