South Korea’s table tennis team recorded its worst performance in the sport’s history at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The team finished the competition with only three bronze medals, failing to secure a silver or gold medal for the first time since table tennis became an official Asian Games event in 1958.
The three bronze medals were earned by the men’s team, the women’s team, and the mixed doubles pair of Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin. Notably, the men’s team failed to reach the final for the first time in 36 years, a streak that had lasted since the 1990 Beijing Games.
Singles and Doubles Collapses
The team’s struggle was highlighted by early exits of star players in singles and doubles events. In men’s singles, world No. 11 Jang Woo-jin was defeated 0-4 in the round of 16 by Feng Yi-shin of Taiwan, who is ranked world No. 41. Ahn Jae-hyun, ranked world No. 17, lost in the round of 32 to Lee Jeong-sik of North Korea.
In the women’s singles quarterfinals, world No. 11 Shin Yu-bin and world No. 14 Joo Chun-hee were defeated by China’s Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu, the world’s top two players, preventing them from winning bronze.
Doubles performances also fell short. The men’s doubles pair of Oh Jun-seong and Lim Jong-hoon, ranked world No. 4, lost 1-3 in the quarterfinals to Japan’s pair of Togami and Matsushima Sora. In the women’s doubles quarterfinals, Shin Yu-bin and Joo Chun-hee suffered a come-from-behind loss to Thailand’s Orrawan Paranang and Sutasiwa Sawettabut.
Team Challenges and Roster Changes
The women’s team struggled following the absence of Jeon Ji-hee, a naturalized ace and key player for more than ten years. While Shin Yu-bin had previously won medals in all events with Jeon in 2022, she was unable to achieve similar results this time despite focusing on women’s and mixed doubles.
Analysis of the women’s pairing noted that the right-handed combination of Shin Yu-bin and the newly naturalized Joo Chun-hee requires more time and experience. While the world No. 1 mixed doubles pair of Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin maintained their chemistry, their long partnership resulted in significant exposure to opponents.
Because the team’s schedule ended early, the squad was forced to move up its return date, which had originally been scheduled for September 29.
