South Korean Men’s and Women’s Table Tennis Teams Both Swept 0-3 by Japan in Semifinals, Share Bronze Medals [Nagoya Asian Games]

[Financial News] South Korea’s men’s and women’s table tennis national teams both suffered heavy defeats to host Japan in the team-event semifinals at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. As the Asian Games do not hold bronze-medal matches, both teams finished the competition with bronze medals.
South Korea’s men’s team, comprising Jang Woojin and Oh Joon-sung of SeAH and An Jae-hyun of Korea Exchange (KRX), lost 0-3 to Japan in the men’s team semifinal at Sky Hall Toyota in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 23rd.
Jang Woojin, South Korea’s leading player ranked 11th in the world, first lost 1-3 (9-11, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11) to Sora Matsushima, ranked third. An Jae-hyun, ranked 36th, then fell 0-3 (10-12, 5-11, 9-11) to Tomokazu Harimoto, ranked fourth. Facing elimination, Oh Joon-sung, ranked 23rd, took Shunsuke Togami, ranked 13th, to a deciding fifth game but narrowly lost 2-3 (11-7, 6-11, 7-11, 12-10, 9-11), ending South Korea’s hopes of reaching the final.
The men’s team has now won a medal in 11 consecutive editions, beginning with the 1986 Seoul Games. However, its run of eight straight silver medals, dating from the 1994 Hiroshima Games through the 2022 Hangzhou Games, has ended. The failure to reach the final is the team’s first since the 1982 New Delhi Games, 44 years ago. Its bid for a gold medal, 36 years after the 1990 Beijing Games, also fell short.

In the women’s team semifinal that followed, South Korea’s team of Shin Yu-bin of Korean Air, Joo Cheon-hui of Samsung Life Insurance, and Kim Nayeong of POSCO International also suffered a 0-3 defeat to Japan.
The team’s ‘ace,’ Shin Yu-bin, ranked 11th, was unable to make an impact against Hina Hayata, ranked sixth, losing 0-3 (6-11, 7-11, 4-11). Joo Cheon-hui, ranked 13th, then fell 0-3 (7-11, 8-11, 9-11) to Miwa Harimoto, ranked third. In the final singles match, Kim Nayeong, ranked 31st, also lost 0-3 (8-11, 9-11, 7-11) to Miyu Nagasaki, ranked 18th. It was a listless shutout loss, with the three South Korean players collectively failing to win a single game.
The women’s team has now won bronze medals in three consecutive team events, following the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Games. Women’s table tennis also missed out on a chance to reach the final for the first time in 36 years since the 1990 Beijing Games, where it won silver.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter