Korea’s men’s doubles team of Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung reached the quarterfinals. South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals in two men’s doubles, one women’s doubles and one mixed doubles event.
Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung defeated Ovidiu Ionescu (ROM)-Alvaro Robles (SPA) 3-1 (13-11 16-18 11-9 11-7) in the men’s doubles round of 16 at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships 2023 at the Durban International Convention Center (DICC) in Durban, South Africa on Thursday (24 April).
The match was close from the start. After falling behind 1-5 in the first game, Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung tied the score at 7-6 with a series of quick drives and defensive errors from their opponents. The Koreans extended their momentum to 10-6, but a strong unexpected attack from their opponents tied the game. The Koreans then took a 12-11 lead when their opponent’s attacker was out, and Cho took the game with three sharp backhands.
Game 2 was tied 10 times, from 7-7 to 16-16, before he dropped two points in the last minute to lose the game. In the third game, he took a 4-0 lead and was down 5-6, but came back with five consecutive points to take the game, and won the fourth game with ease.
Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung (L)토토사이트 of South Korea talk to the South Korean media after reaching the quarterfinals of the men’s doubles event at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships 2023 at the Durban International Convention Center (DICC) in Durban, South Africa, on Thursday (local time). Korea Table Tennis Association
After the match, Lee Sang-soo said, “I prepared thoroughly for the round of 16 because I thought they would be really difficult opponents,” adding, “I’m glad I practiced a lot. Now that the round of 16 is over, I think I need to think about the quarterfinals and prepare well.” Cho Dae-sung said, “They were tough opponents. At first, my game plan went wrong and I was nervous, so I struggled, but after I won the first three games, I think it was still easy.”
Commenting on the close second game, Lee Sang-soo said, “I was expecting my opponent to touch me more or give me longer shots, but they played a lot of short shots and we didn’t keep them,” adding, “That’s why they gave me good shots. I think we hung in there, but I think we lost because we missed one easy one at the end in the head game.”
Their next opponent will be Sweden’s Christian Karlsson-Matthias Falk, the men’s doubles champions from Houston in 2021. Dae-sung Cho, along with Ahn Jae-hyun, had lost to Carlsson and Falck in the men’s doubles round of 16, 2 and 3.
“We were winning 2-1 in the round of 16 and then lost, but I didn’t play badly then, but I thought there was a gap in skill,” Cho said. “This time, I think the gap has narrowed a lot, so I think I can beat them,” he said.
“They’ve been playing together since they were juniors and know each other well,” said Lee Sang-soo. “They’re the winners of (the last tournament), but I think we can beat them.”