Jeon Ji-hee (32, Mirae Asset Securities), who became a naturalized citizen 13 years ago, choked back tears as she expressed gratitude for the people who brought her to Korea, everyone she had met in the country, and herself for persevering.
The Korean team, consisting of Jeon Ji-hee, Shin Yu-bin (20, Korean Air), and Lee Eun-hye (29, Korean Air), secured the bronze medal by defeating Germany 3-0 in the bronze medal match of the women’s team table tennis event at the 2024 Paris Olympics held at the South Paris Arena in Paris, France on the 10th (Korean time).
It has been 16 years since the Korean women’s table tennis team won an Olympic team medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics (Dang Ye-seo, Kim Kyung-ah, Park Mi-young).
Jin Ji-hee, who has become the team’s ace after naturalization, harbored a long-held grudge on this day.
Jeon Ji-hee expressed immense joy, gratitude, and pride. ”I am honored, happy, and grateful. I was so happy when I found out I had won the bronze medal.”
Jeon Ji-hee, who had struggled with a slumping team, couldn’t hide her excitement. “I’m glad I was able to keep this spot and finish well. I was happy to compete alongside the two players (Shin Yu-bin and Lee Eun-hye) without any regrets.”
She continued, “I’ve heard that Korean women’s table tennis isn’t very good, but things have changed since Yubin came in.” She expressed deep gratitude to those who had brought her to Korea and everyone she had met in the country. She also thanked herself for not giving up.
Lee Eun-hye, who clinched the bronze medal with a clean victory in the second singles match, beamed with pride. “The first doubles match must have been a lot of pressure, but winning gave me a lot of strength. I was determined to do my best in the important second singles match.”
(Paris=News 1)