Paris Olympics: South Korea’s coach in tears after losing table tennis clash with China
- China have won Olympic gold in every edition of the Games since the sport’s inclusion at Beijing 2008
South Korea’s table tennis coach Joo Sae-hyuk was left in tears after his side lost their men’s team table tennis quarter-final to China.
Cho Dae-seong, Jang Woo-jin, and Lim Jong-hoon were beaten 3-0 by China’s trio of Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin and Ma Long.
China have won team Olympic gold in every single edition since its inclusion at the 2008 Games in Beijing.
“We have lost every single time we faced the Chinese table tennis team,” Joo said. “It has been [the same] for over 20 years.
“Our players challenged themselves and tried their best. They never thought about giving up as they were representing their country.”
Joo also expressed his frustration at seventh-seed Swedish reaching the final after beating Japan 3-2, while his side had more points in the world rankings but failed to reach the last four.