S. Korea reaches Paralympic gold medal target with table tennis title in Paris

PARIS, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has reached its gold medal target at the Paris Paralympics, as Kim Gi-tae grabbed his first career title in men's table tennis.

Kim defeated Chen Po Yen of Chinese Taipei 3-1 (3-11, 15-13, 11-7, 11-9) to win the men's singles (MS11 classification) title at South Paris Arena 4 in the French capital Thursday.

It was South Korea's fifth gold medal of the Paralympics here. The country has set out to win five gold medals in France after settling for two gold medals at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.

Kim's class was for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Making his Paralympic debut, Kim knocked off world No. 1 from Australia, Samuel von Einem, in the semifinals. After dropping the opening game against Chen in the final, Kim won the next three straight games.

He built a 10-6 lead in the fourth game before conceding three unanswered points but clinched the title when Chen's smash hit the net.

This was also South Korea's first gold in table tennis in Paris. It had three gold medals from shooting and one gold medal from boccia.

Also in table tennis Thursday, Seo Su-yeon took bronze in the women's singles (WS1-2 classification), while Jang Yeong-jin also earned bronze in the men's singles (MS3).

Seo lost to Liu Jing of China 3-2 (5-11 11-8, 11-7, 10-12, 13-11) in the semifinals. Seo had lost to Liu in the singles finals in 2016 and 2021, and to Liu and her partner, Xue Juan, in the women's doubles final in Paris.

Jang lost to Feng Panfeng of China 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-9) in the semifinals.

There are no bronze medal matches in para table tennis, and all semifinal losers receive bronze medals.

In para table tennis, classification 1-2 is for players with no sitting balance and with varying degrees of arm impairment. Class 3 is for players with no trunk control but with arms minimally affected by impairment.

Jeong Ho-won, a men's individual gold medalist in boccia, teamed up with Kang Sun-hee for silver in the mixed pairs (BC3 classification) event Thursday.

Boccia is a precision ball game for athletes with cerebral palsy or related neurological conditions. The objective is to throw, kick or use a ramp to put a ball as close to the white "jack" ball as possible.

The BC3 classification is for those with severe locomotor dysfunction in all four extremities. They may use a pointer, a ramp and support from an assistant.

Kang had earlier won bronze in the women's individual (BC3) event.

Jeong and Kang fell to Tse Tak Wah and Ho Yuen Kei of Hong Kong in the final by 5-3 at South Paris Arena 1.

South Korea finished boccia with one gold medal, three silver medals and one bronze medal. It has won at least one boccia gold at 10 Paralympics in a row, dating to the 1988 event in Seoul. It is also the most successful nation in Paralympic boccia history, with 11 gold medals overall.

South Korea is in 17th place in the medal race with five gold, eight silver and 13 bronze medals. The competition will end Sunday.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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