North beats South in men’s table tennis

LONDON (Yonhap News) ― In the first inter-Korean showdown at the London Olympics Monday, North Korean Kim Hyok-bong defeated South Korea’s Joo Sae-hyuk in the men’s singles table tennis.

At London’s ExCeL Arena, Kim, ranked 77th in the world, eliminated the 10th-ranked Joo from the third round with a 4-2 (11-5, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8, 15-13) victory.

This was Joo’s first match in the Olympics. He’d received byes through the first two rounds. After conceding the opening game, the South Korean fought back to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven competition. But Kim, known more for his defensive style of play, was the aggressive one in this match. He took the next two games relying on hard drives to regain the lead.

In the sixth game, Kim blew a 10-8 lead and was forced into deuce four times before prevailing 15-13.

Officials and fellow players from both Koreas shouted encouragements to Kim and Joo from the stands. Kim’s two teammates, Jang Song-man and Kim Song-nam, at first sat in the same row as South Korean coaches and players, but later moved farther back when more South Koreans came in to take seats.

After the match, Kim was quickly ushered away from the media by a team official as he passed through the mixed zone.