"Is This Even Possible?" A Day of Humiliation for Chinese Table Tennis as Korea Sweeps China 3-0... Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon Win WTT Mixed Doubles Title

[Financial News] It was nothing short of a spectacular performance. The seemingly unbreakable 'Great Wall' of China crumbled in no time. Korea’s 'golden duo'—Lim Jong-hoon (Korea Exchange) and Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air)—broke through the heart of world-leading Chinese table tennis, scripting a miraculous championship story.
On the 13th (Korean time), at the Hong Kong Coliseum, Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin claimed the mixed doubles title at the 'WTT Finals Hong Kong 2025' by sweeping the world’s top-ranked Chinese pair, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, 3-0 (11-9, 11-8, 11-6).
It was a flawless match, with the Korean duo not dropping a single game. What made this result even more unbelievable was their opponents: Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, the current world No. 1s in men’s and women’s singles and the strongest pairing in the sport. Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin had lost all six previous encounters against them, never managing a single win—a seemingly insurmountable barrier.


But the seventh meeting was different. There was no need for the phrase 'seventh time’s the charm.' Faced with Lim Jong-hoon’s powerful drives and Shin Yu-bin’s smart placements, the previously 'invincible' Chinese pair had no answer.
In the tense first game, tied at 9-9, the Koreans calmly forced errors from their opponents to seize the lead. Even when facing a crisis in the second game, they remained composed. Despite conceding five consecutive points, they regained momentum with relentless determination, exploiting Sun Yingsha’s vulnerabilities due to injury.
The third game, which sealed the victory, was a true drama. Trailing 3-4, the Koreans turned the tables to lead 6-5, and at match point 10-6, Wang Chuqin’s desperate attack went out of bounds—marking a historic moment for Korean table tennis.
This victory was even more meaningful because of the challenging road to the final. In the semifinals, Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin pulled off a thrilling comeback against the world’s top-ranked mixed doubles pair, Lin Shidong and Kuai Man. They avenged previous defeats in the WTT Americas Smash and European Smash finals against their long-standing rivals.
Defeating China’s top two teams in succession and sweeping the final 3-0 is an unprecedented achievement in the history of Korean table tennis. This is also the first time a Korean player has lifted the trophy at the prestigious WTT Finals.
The celebrations of these two athletes lit up the night in Hong Kong, instilling fans with renewed confidence that Korean table tennis can once again reach the pinnacle of the sport.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter