‘The Great Wall of China’ doubles pair of Lee Sang-soo (33) and Cho Dae-sung (21-ranked 11th by Samsung Life Insurance) were once again blocked by the Great Wall of China.

The duo defeated the world’s top-ranked pair of Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin in the men’s doubles quarterfinals of the 2023 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Championships in Durban, South Africa, on Saturday (Feb. 26) with a game score of 1-3 (11-7, 3-11, 5-11, 12-14).

Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung, who came back from 3-1 down in the quarterfinals against defending champions Christian Karlsson and Matthias Falk (SWE) to reach the semifinals and secure the bronze medal, also fought hard against the top Chinese pair.

They took the first game 11-7 to set the tone. The Chinese players’ panic was evident, but they fell behind 0-6 in the second game due to Fan Jiandong’s aggressive net play. They lost the second game 3-11. In game 3, she was down 0-4, but she stabilized her reception and caught up to 3-4 and 4-5. However, an error followed and the score was 5-8. A brilliant drive rally by the Chinese made it 5-9, and a series of missed serves left them down 5-11 in game three. Game 4 was a bloodbath. Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung turned the tide with a 3-0 lead. However, a strong spinning ball from Pan Jiandong shook their reception and they lost two points, and then Lee Sang-soo’s duck shot made it 4-2. A Korean reception error tied the score at 4-4. However, Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-seong-jo refused to lose momentum. They fought off rallies and countered attack after attack to take a 7-4 and 8-5 lead, but at 8-7 and within one point, they conceded a break to the world No. 1 Pan Jian Dong-jo at 8-9 just after stoppage time. At 8-10 and facing match point, he fought to the end. Lee Sang-soo and Cho Dae-sung traded points to go into the deuce game at 10-10. Lee Sang-soo’s clever use of the course gave him an 11-10 lead. Just before taking the fourth game at 12-10, Pan Jiandong’s cartoonish Jin Ki Myung Ki proved to be the game-changer of the day. Lee Sang-soo’s drive almost made it to net point, but Pan Zhen-dong desperately scooped up the ball that fell into the net to take the edge point. In the end, they dropped the fourth game 12-14 and lost the match 1-3. The Chinese pair of Zhang Wujin and Lim Jonghun, who had beaten Germany’s Ocharovs in the previous match to reach the final for the first time in two tournaments, were denied a gold medal.메이저사이트

However, their performance against a strong Chinese team featuring the world’s 1-2 players was commendable. The eldest member of the Korean team, Lee Sang-soo, won his third bronze medal of the tournament in the men’s doubles alongside young ace Cho Dae-sung. Born in 1990, the 34-year-old South Korean has been a steady presence on the World Championships stage for the past decade since Paris 2013, winning medals in every singles, mixed doubles, and team event he’s competed in. Jo Dae-sung, nicknamed the “Table Tennis Prodigy” and recognized as the future of Korean men’s table tennis after defeating Fan Zhendong in March, also soared through a long injury tunnel to claim his first medal on the World Championships stage.