North Korea’s Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong made history by winning their country’s first Olympic medal in eight years, claiming silver in the mixed doubles table tennis event at the Paris Games. The duo’s impressive performance came after a hard-fought 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8 defeat to China’s Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha.
China, the undisputed table tennis powerhouse, has dominated the sport at the Olympics, winning 32 of the 37 available gold medals since its inception. However, they missed out on the mixed doubles title in Tokyo three years ago. Wang and Sun rectified that with their victory, setting the stage for a potential clean sweep of table tennis golds in Paris.
North Korea, which skipped the Tokyo Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to train with the Chinese team in preparation for Paris. Kim acknowledged the invaluable lessons they learned from the world’s best.
“We had some time with the Chinese team, which is the world’s best,” said Kim. “Of course it wasn’t enough in the end. We had a good performance but there are some regrets. We learned a lot from them.”
Despite their defeat, Ri and Kim remained optimistic, vowing to return stronger. “We hope to do better next time and win the gold,” said Kim.
Wang and Sun, who have not lost outside China in four years, faced an unfamiliar challenge in the North Korean pair. “It’s quite rare to have a North Korean pair in international competition,” said Sun. “We had never played them before. They have strengths and they have been able to beat a lot of opponents. They have a distinctive style.”
After a close first game, China took control, but North Korea fought back to level the match. China regained the lead, but North Korea once again showed their resilience. Ultimately, the Chinese pair prevailed, but Sun admitted that the loss in Tokyo had motivated them.
“All of us were so devoted, we invested a lot,” said Sun. “Every match we had certain difficulties but we backed each other up and we got to the final and beat such a good team.”
