Shin Yu-bin (19, Korean Air), the ninth-ranked player in the world, told an unexpected story at the training ground of the Korean Air Women's Table Tennis Team in Wondang, Incheon, on the 18th. Shortly after winning the silver medal in the women's doubles at the Durban World Table Tennis Championships in South Africa in May, he competed in World Table Tennis (WTT) Lagos (Nigeria), Tunisia (Tunis), Zagreb (Croatia), and Ljubljana (Slovenia) in June-July. Ace, who beat "Chinese Shinsung" Liakr in Lagos to win two singles and doubles titles, reached the final of two singles in Tunisia, and reached the semifinals of four doubles in a row, including winning Lagos and Zagreb, picked the "first game" as the most memorable game in July. It was the round of 32 match against Taiwan's Li Yu-jun, who gave up two games first and won three games after a deuce battle, and won a new 3-2 match, and neither fans nor media remembered. The expected answers were to beat "Chinese newcomer" Liakker for the second consecutive time, to turn "Japanese ace" Miyu Nagasaki, the first final against "Harimoto's sister" Miwa, and a showdown with "world's No. 1" Sun Ying-sha, but they missed it well. I asked why. "The game was the worst. "What kind of table tennis have I played?" We've got a problem. There is no answer if you type it like this. I just thought, 'I can never beat the players above.'" 스포츠토토

Shin Yu-bin was focusing on the content, not the results. "I kept winning the world championships and was missing out on looking back on myself. After the first game, I had a meeting with Coach Adjirae for two or three hours. It's time for reflection. Table tennis requires three things: body, mental, and technology, but there was no space to fill the skills because it was hard for the body and mind," he explained. Shin Yu-bin changed her mind and eventually won the tournament. "I woke up after the first game was a mess. There hasn't been a worse one since. Little by little, my performance started to go up."

It is not an easy challenge to go around four African and European competitions in a month due to poor conditions, frequent movements, and stomachache. However, Shin Yu-bin, who is optimistic, said, "I made up my mind in advance after the world championships." Rather than being scared, I was happy with the 4th consecutive journey. I've learned a lot, too," he said. "By the way, I'm happy." "It's fun." After the last match in Slovenia, I cried without realizing it. "It must have been a little hard." "Sleep, wake up, play, study, play, sleep, study... Sometimes I felt like my head was going to explode, but I learned a lot. "It was the hardest thing in my career, but I learned the most things," he said with a smile.

Although she is full of a bright smile, she has been in deep trouble since she was unable to play for nearly a year and a half after suffering a wrist fracture at the 2021 Houston World Championships. "Actually, I was very scared. At first, I thought I would be happy if I played ping pong again, but it didn't go my way. I couldn't read the flow. "It was hard to hit the ball because I was scared," he said. "I was scared of 'what if I get hurt again' even at the world championships, but after winning the first round, I was excited because I thought 'it's better than two years ago.' I can't wait for tomorrow to come, and I'm starting to feel excited again like the day before the picnic."

Following the silver medal in the women's doubles at the world championships, the world's highest ranking "9th" came like a gift to a 19-year-old table tennis girl who overcame the ordeal. Among the top 10, China (Sun Ying-sha, Chen Meng, Wang Man-yu, Wang Yidi, Chen Xiang-tong, and Zhengzi Tianyi) ranked first to sixth, Japan (Itomima, Hayata Hina) ranked seventh to eighth, and South Korea's Shin Yu-bin ranked ninth.

Despite the praise from the people around him, Shin Yu-bin was not happy. "The ranking keeps changing, and if I pay attention to the ranking, I think I'll miss the skill. If I make my skills strong, I think the ranking will follow. There are 6 Chinese players and 2 Japanese players in the top 10. I have to keep banging on this wall. 'Knock, knock, can I come in?' You have to work harder."

Shin Yu-bin said that ranking is only ranking, but "world class" is still far away. What is 'Walkle' in her mind. "You have to be able to cope with every beat and every ball skillfully. The number of games needs to improve, the ball needs to be more accurate, and I need to be able to send all the balls in the direction I want to send. In order to do that, you need to raise your level overall. "I think I can say 'Walkle' only when I can hit it as much as the world's No. 1 (Sun Ying-sha) in all aspects," he replied clearly. "But I don't think top Chinese rankers are 'overwhelming walls'. Rather than winning once, I want to go up to the same level. I want to build up my ability to hit 5-5," he said with emphasis.


At the Korean Air Table Tennis Training Center, a famous women's table tennis team, photos of former Olympic and world championships medalists are hung. South Africa World Championships women's doubles silver medalist Shin Yu-bin will proudly be listed in the "Hall of Fame" of legends such as Kim Soon-ok, a gold medalist in the 1973 Sarajevo team event, Kim Kyung-ah, a bronze medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics team event, and Dang Ye-seo.
On one side of the Korean Air Table Tennis Training Center is the Hall of Fame of Women's Table Tennis Legends from Korean Air, from Kim Soon-ok, the gold medal at the 1973 Sarajevo World Championships, to Kim Kyung-ah, the bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Dang Ye-seo. Shin Yu-bin, a silver medalist at the 2023 South Africa World Championships Women's Doubles, will proudly be listed next to her legendary seniors. The 19-year-old ace's world challenge is just beginning. The best moment has yet to come. "I hope I don't have any regrets when I look back on my career in 10 years. There must be a lot of hard work, but I will focus on my ping pong and overcome it flexibly. "I want to be a stronger player," he said.

Her storm schedule begins again. From July 31 to August 6 in Peru, Rio de Janeiro (August 7 to 13 in Brazil), Pyeongchang Asian Table Tennis Championships (September 3 to 10), and Hangzhou Asian Games (September 23 to October 8). Shin Yu-bin once again blinked at the story of the Hangzhou Asian Games, saying, "It sounds fun." "I want to continue to overcome it by practicing the actual game before the Asian Games." I don't have time to be frustrated by losing in a busy schedule, nor do I have time to like winning. I'm going to do the actual game like a drill. Now I have a space of technology in my mind again. I'm trying various new changes in drive, swing, and movement during the game. The goal is not the immediate result, but the goal is to improve. I'm most desperate to play table tennis with good content in every competition. Then I think the medal will follow. The brighter the color of the medal, the better, right?" he said with a smile.

Shin Yu-bin, a "donation angel" who willingly offered the entire 10 million won prize for the World Championships medal to World Vision, did not forget the promise of gratitude and sharing to his fans as always. "Thank you so much to the fans. I want to be a player who gives joy and emotion. It's an athlete's privilege, and it wouldn't have been possible if you were a regular student, right? And I want to share the love I received with more people for a long time. I'm going to donate even harder. Donating is a powerful motivation that makes me want to do better. I want to be better at ping pong, and I want to donate more."