Table tennis' Shin Yubin looks to bounce back from team event loss in singles and doubles

Unexpectedly poor performance in team event as ace
Pay attention to your opponents and whether you can overcome a drop in fitness

Shin Yoo-bin (19-Korean Air) will look to rebound from an early team event slump at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games in the women's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.

Led by Shin Yubin, the South Korean women's table tennis team (ranked fifth in the world) fell to Japan (ranked second in the world) by a 1-3 match score in the semifinals of the women's table tennis team event at the Gungsu Canal Sports Park Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China on Monday (Aug. 25).

Playing as the No. 1 seed in the women's singles, World No. 8 Yubin Shin lost to World No. 9 Hina Hayata with a game score of 0-3 (7-11 6-11 8?11).

Shin, who lost to Du Hoi Kem in the quarterfinals in Hong Kong the previous day, fell behind early in the first game, falling victim to the left-handed Hina Hayata's forehand attack. This led to an unforced error and the first game was lost.

After a lethargic second game, she rallied in the third game but allowed Hina Hayata to catch up and lost the game at 8-8.

Shin played in four matches with a 1-2 match score. She faced world No. 16 Miu Hirano, but lost decisively at every juncture.

In games 1 and 3, he was ahead of Hirano but allowed a deuce to turn the tide. In game 4, he was down 0-6 and rallied to 9-10, but eventually lost.

After the match, Shin pointed out that his opponent seemed to have a game plan. "It seems like the players I play against keep playing pretty much the same against me," he said, "and I need to work on those issues to make sure I have a good game."

Shin has won a number of international tournaments this year, which has helped her rise to No. 8 in the women's singles world rankings. In the process, the number of players and teams she has faced has increased, and it is likely that her opponents at the Asian Games were aware of her strengths and weaknesses. As a result, she will need to find ways to overcome her opponents in the upcoming individual events.

Physical fitness is also important. Although she is still a teenager, she is very resilient, but her physical condition is not perfect due to her participation in back-to-back international tournaments this year. She will have to compete in three individual events in addition to the team competition.

It will be interesting to see if she can overcome the challenges and win an individual medal at her first Asian Games. sportstotomen.com