| ▲ Hyo-won Seo (left) and her younger brother Hyo-young Seo, who advanced to the women’s singles quarterfinals of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships ⓒ SPOTV Table Tennis Commentator |
[스포티비뉴스=조영준 기자] The eldest sister of the Korean women’s table tennis team, Seo Hyo-won (34, Korea Horse Association, 22nd in the world ranking), advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s singles final of the World Championships.
Hyo-won Seo competes in the women’s singles round of 16 of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Table Tennis (WTT) World Championships held at the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, USA on the 27th (Korean time). , world ranking 13th) 4-1 (11-9 11-9 10-12 11-9 11-9).
Seo Hyo-won advanced to the round of 16 in the singles of the 2019 World Championships held in Budapest, Hungary. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Championships and broke the best singles record at the individual World Championships two years ago.
He has consistently maintained the Taegeuk mark for the past 10 years. However, he also had a painful time as he failed to participate in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The person who helped me a lot in this situation was my younger brother Seo Hyo-young (31). He started table tennis with his older sister and is currently working as a YouTube table tennis creator and a table tennis equipment businessman.
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| ▲ Hyo-Won Seo ⓒ Korea Table Tennis Association |
He watched her sister’s game as a commentator on SPOTV, which broadcasts the World Table Tennis Championships. When Seo Hyo-won’s progress to the quarterfinals was confirmed, commentator Seo Hyo-young did not hide her excitement. He said, “My sister suffered from an injury before the competition. There was a tear in her knee and wrist cartilage. It’s an injury she has always had, but she endured it well and played a good game.”
Then, member Seo said, “My sister plays every moment thinking it’s her last game. Now she’s an old man and her physical strength isn’t what it used to be, but I think she’s in good shape at this tournament.
Seo Hyo-won showed off her strong concentration in this contest. As each game was played, he showed a surprising back and became the winner.
Seo Hyo-young explained, “The reason why my sister is strong in the final match is the serve. The strength is the serve, but a player with a strong serve has an advantage in the deuce situation or at the end of the game.”
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| ▲ Seo Hyo-won (right) and Seo Hyo-young table tennis sisters ⓒ Seo Hyo-young Instagram capture |
This year, Seo Hyo-won suffered the ordeal of not participating in the Tokyo Olympics. Commissioner Seo, who watched Hyo-won Seo from the nearest place, said, “My sister was weak at domestic competitions due to the nature of her being a defensive player. Although she did not participate in the Olympics, now that I think about it, taking a break and managing her injuries has led to good results in this tournament.”
Seo Hyo-won is highly likely to meet World No. 2 Sun Ying-xia (21, China) on the way to the final. Sun Yingxia will face Adriana Diaz (21, Puerto Rico, world No. 16) in the round of 16. It is believed that Sun Ying-Xia and Seo Hyo-Won will meet in the quarterfinals unless there is a major incident.
Seo said, “The world’s top players, including Chinese players, will meet someday. I don’t think rankings mean much.” “My sister met Sun Yingxia in the past, and although we lost the game, we played close matches. I think it’s relatively worth trying. do,” he predicted.
“The condition on the day of the match is also important,” he explained.
All Korean men and women who participated in the finals of the World Championships failed to advance to the quarterfinals. Lim Jong-hoon (24, KGC Ginseng Corporation, world ranking 71st) played in the men’s singles round of 16 that day, but lost to Truls Mörgård (19, Sweden, world ranking 77th) 3-4-3.
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| ▲ Hyo-Won Seo ⓒ Korea Table Tennis Association |
Seo Hyo-won was the only Korean player to reach the quarterfinals. He, who achieved the best individual performance in this tournament, opened the ‘second heyday’ by announcing the resurrection.
In this situation, Seo Hyo-won can play in the quarterfinals without much burden. Seo said, “I had a phone call with my sister yesterday, and she said, ‘Isn’t it a situation to be congratulated by winning a medal?'” He added, “Now, I’m grateful just to receive support. Winning a medal is the best result, so they said it wouldn’t be good to receive congratulations then.”
Seo Hyo-won will compete with the winner of the singles round of 16 between Sun Ying-xia and Diaz on the 28th to advance to the semi-finals.
