Paralympic Table Tennis Player Seo Su-yeon Advances to Singles Final... Aiming for South Korea's First Gold Medal

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Seo Su-yeon (35, Gwangju City Hall), the 'flagship star' of South Korean women's table tennis, is aiming for the first gold medal for the Korean team.

On the afternoon of the 28th, Seo Su-yeon made a comeback victory 3-1 (7-11 11-8 11-5 11-9) against Brazil's Katia Oliveira in the women's singles (sports classification 1-2) semifinals held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. She struggled in the first set against her opponent's unconventional high serve and lost 7-11, but soon found her rhythm and won the 2nd to 4th sets consecutively, advancing to the finals for the second consecutive time following the 2016 Rio Games.

Seo Su-yeon will challenge for the Korean team's first gold medal in the finals on the afternoon of the same day. Having won the silver medal in singles at the Rio Games and shed tears, she is determined to smile brightly and stand at the highest podium this time. Coincidentally, her opponent is Rio gold medalist Li Jing, who caused Seo Su-yeon the pain of the silver medal.

Seo Su-yeon clearly expressed her determination to win the gold medal by overcoming the strongest Chinese ace. In a mixed zone interview after securing the silver medal, she said, "Now I will forget all previous matches and focus only on preparing for Li Jing. I will rest and prepare well."

Seo Su-yeon, along with Lee Mi-gyu (33, Ulsan Metropolitan City Disabled Sports Association) and Yoon Ji-yoo (21, Seongnam City Hall), who won bronze medals in singles at this tournament, are also preparing for the women's team event on the 31st. The three of them previously won a bronze medal together at the Rio Games.

The goal is gold medals in both individual and team events. Seo Su-yeon said, "I tell my younger teammates that all three of us are strong in our respective weight classes, and bronze medals are not enough. Compared to other countries, I don't think we are at a disadvantage. I definitely want to win the gold medal." She added, "Since my younger teammates are doing well, I trust them and will finish the team event successfully."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.