South Korea took fourth place in women's team table tennis at the London Olympics Tuesday.

South Korea fell to Singapore 3-0. Kim Kyung-ah, Seok Ha-jung and Dang Ye-seo took away only three games against Feng Tianwei, Li Jiawei and Wang Yuegu, the same trio that won silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

This marks the first time South Korea has failed to win a medal in women's table tennis since the sport became a medal event in 1988.

Olympic table tennis team competition is played in a best-of-five format. The first two matches are singles, the third is doubles and the final two, if necessary, are also singles. Each country carries three players.

The first to win three games in each individual contest is the winner.

Kim and Seok dropped their singles matches to start the competition, as Feng and Li repeatedly hit hard smashes right at the bodies of the helpless Koreans.

In the doubles, Seok and Dang teamed up against Wang and Li, but they failed to extend the match.

The South Korean duo conceded the first two games before fighting back to take the third game, 11-6. Wang and Li took the fourth game 11-5, putting up eight straight points on board in one stretch for the match and the bronze.

Kim, a defensive specialist ranked No. 5 in the world, struggled to keep her returns on the table. Seok engaged in a fast-paced duel against equally aggressive Li, but the Singaporean outlasted Seok with an array of winners and Seok's unforced errors.

Kim, at 35, is mulling retirement after London. The teary veteran said she was frustrated because even her best efforts weren't good enough.

"I really wanted to end this on a winning note, but I think it only made me force the issue," said Kim who, along with Dang, was on the bronze medal-winning team in Beijing. "For athletes, there are always bound to be pressure and expectations. I just couldn't overcome them this time."

Hyun Jung-hwa, South Korea's head coach and singles champion at the 1988 Olympics, said the country should start developing more junior players for a better future.

"This loss today really gives me the extra motivation," she said. "We have to accept this and prepare as hard as we can."

The men's team of Joo Sae-hyuk, Oh Sang-eun and Ryu Seung-min will face China for the gold medal on Wednesday. The men's and women's team events replaced doubles competitions at the Beijing Olympics. (Yonhap News)