On July 29, 2024 local time, France, Paris Olympics table tennis mixed doubles semifinals, Lee Jung-sik/Kim Qin-young defeated Hwang Jin-ting/Du Kai-kin 4-3 to advance to the final.
In the table tennis arena of the Paris Olympics, there is a North Korean mixed doubles pair - Lee Jung-sik/Kim Qin-young - who will not be interviewed. In the face of reporters, they do not say a word; In the face of their opponents, they "slaughtered all sides". After defeating Japan, Sweden and Hong Kong, China, the "dark horses" advanced to the final on the 29th, and on the 30th, they will face the ultimate opponent - the Chinese pair Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha. What is the origin of the Korean division? Why did you reach the mixed doubles final? What is the winning rate of the "Shatou Combination"? Journalists try to demystify the North Korean pair.
Headaches for opponents and curiosity for the media
North Korean table tennis has been absent from the Olympic stage for eight years, and they amazed everyone as soon as they appeared. On the 27th, in the first round of mixed doubles, they defeated the second seeds Tomokazu Zhangmoto/Hina Hayada 4:1.
After the game, Zhang Benzhihe could not hide his frustration, but he admitted that the North Korean pair played better: "It's not that we didn't play well, our balls were played." North Korean women have few backhand errors, which has caused us a lot of difficulties; There are also male players, the ball he pulls with his forehand and twists the ball with his backhand, which is too high quality. ”
Not only Tomokazu Zhangmoto, but also the Sweden pair Carlberg/Carlsen felt the same way. On the 28th, the Sweden also lost 1:4 to the North Korean team. "They cooperate too tacitly, and they have been partners for a long time." Carlberg said.
"Their performance was impressive." Magnus believes it's hard to find a way to deal with it, and they come out of nowhere because they haven't played before.
"The North Korean women were very tricky with the ball and caused us problems in the first game. There were a couple of seemingly simple balls that I thought would be easy to handle, but they weren't. Her style of play is uncommon among female players and almost non-existent among male players. Carlson said.
After all three mixed doubles matches, the North Koreans did not give interviews to the media, always smiling and shaking their heads, and walked quickly out of the mixed interview area, followed by the disappointed gazes of all the reporters. "Not understanding" became the label that everyone gave them.
The Asahi Shimbun said that the Japan team's knowledge of the North Korean combination only came from the mixed doubles qualifying tournament for the Paris Olympics, and there was no other information. Japan coach Kunishi Tashi also said in the review that the first game lost too quickly, falling behind 0:6 as soon as it came up, and if he could hold on for a few more rounds, he should be able to understand them better.
Hina Hayada also admitted: "I didn't feel particularly nervous, but because I didn't know much about them, I was a little confused, so I couldn't catch the male player's shots, and I didn't form an effective counterattack, so I was pressed and beaten all the time." ”
Deciphering the "Mystery Play"
Over the course of three matches, the mystical pair gradually revealed their true faces.
Male player Lee Jung-sik, right-handed horizontal board, two-sided reverse glue, mainstream play, good at backhand large-angle torn slash. Female player Jin Qinying, left-handed horizontal board, forehand backhand, backhand long rubber, although not tall, but has the ability to move quickly and strong to protect the platform.
"The two have participated in few international competitions, few people have played against them, and there is very little information about them on the Internet, let alone training methods, technical and tactical characteristics, and they do not accept interviews, which adds to the mystery." Sun Qilin, the head international referee of table tennis and chair professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, believes that compared with other combinations, although the North Korean combination has less competition experience, their non-mainstream style of play has made the opponent unsuitable.
"In the mixed doubles arena today, there are very few professional athletes who use long glue." Sun Qilin explained that the rubber on both sides of the racket of North Korean female players has two different properties, and if you change the forehand and backhand, it will increase the threat of hitting the ball and make the opponent's return uncertain.
Hong Kong's Wong Chun-ting explained that long rubber is a special style of play, which has a different rhythm from anti-glue, and the spin of the two is different, especially in the mixed doubles event, such a special style of play will disrupt the rhythm. "I can adjust it in singles, but in doubles, I and Du Kaiqin are two right-handers, so there will be a problem with movement."
"Jin Qinying is skilled in the use of backhand long rubber, scraping, wiping, knocking, squeezing, she returns to the past ball, making it difficult for opponents to parry, and can also create offensive opportunities for teammates, plus she has a good mentality, she is not impatient in the game, so there are few mistakes." Indeed, as Sun Qilin said, before the game, Zhang Benzhihe found that Jin Qinying's rubber was special, and he admitted after the game that he was very uncomfortable with her backhand rubber.
Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun said that Kim Qinying's backhand long rubber caused a lot of trouble for the Japan team. In the face of her incoming ball with less spin, the Japan team did not respond enough, resulting in a low quality return, allowing Lee Jung-sik to repeatedly attack successfully, which became a common scoring method for the North Korean pair.
The Chinese team must go all out
On the 30th, the mixed doubles gold medal will be determined in the table tennis event of this Olympic Games. Sun Yingsha believes that it is necessary to be prepared because the competition will be more difficult than before: "The North Korean team is a team with strong will, we have not played each other before, although we have all prepared for the Olympic combination, but the main thing about the competition is a change of pace. One of the other side is a particle (style of play), which is a test for our adjustment and connection. We're going to give it our all to fight for the final. ”
When preparing for the Olympics in Chengdu, the Chinese women's table tennis team specially prepared a number of particle players to do sparring, and also invited the veteran Deng Yaping to interpret the essence of particle and arc prevention play in detail.
However, experts also warn that the North Korean pair, who broke into the final for the first time, may play abnormally due to nervousness, or they may play beyond the level due to excitement. "They are all 'post-00', they are all participating in international competitions for the first time, and their basic skills are very solid, whether it is serving, receiving or holding each other, they have a stable performance, and the Chinese team needs to be vigilant at all times." Sun Qilin reminded.
Just after the Hong Kong team lost to the North Korean combination 3:4 and missed the final, the head coach of the Hong Kong team, Liu Guodong, also seemed to have found the "key" to defeat the North Korean combination.
Liu Guodong said: "The ability of the Chinese team is far superior to that of the North Korean team, and I think it is no problem to beat them, because we have found the shortcomings of the North Korean team, the girls receive the backhand long ball and do not attack, they mainly rely on rhythm and long rubber." We lost because we didn't fit in, but with the ability of the Chinese team, no problem. ”
Source: Xinhua News Agency