International Events | 11 Apr 2024
Korea’s and Hong Kong’s pairings secured two tickets for Paris
Photo: Courtesy Czech Table Tennis Association
After the first day of play at the World Mixed Doubles Table Tennis Olympic Qualification in Havirov, RI Jong Sik and KIM Kum Yong of Korea, along with WONG Chun Ting and DOO Hoi Kem of Hong Kong, secured their places in the Olympic tournament in Paris 2024.
On their way to victory in their respective draw, RI Jong Sik and KIM Kum Yong overcame Alvaro ROBLES and Maria XIAO of Spain in the ultimate hurdle. Previously, they defeated Hungary’s Nandor ECSEKI and Dora MADARASZ, India’s Sathiyan GNANASEKARAN and Manika BATRA, as well as Lubomir PISTEJ and Barbora BALAZOVA of Slovakia.
In the second bracket, WONG and DOO overcame Luka MLADENOVIC and Xia Lian NI of Luxembourg in the final. In other matches, they eliminated Kristian KARLSSON and Christina KALLBERG of Sweden, Samuel KULCZYCKI and Zuzanna WIELGOS of Poland.
The remaining 24 pairs will return to the tables tomorrow for another round of competition. Seeded based on their performances from the previous day, the teams will be divided into two knockout brackets once again. The winners of these brackets will clinch the remaining two Olympic quotas from the World Mixed Doubles Olympic Qualifiers, cementing their places in Paris.