| 1991 World Table Tennis Championships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Events | |||
| Singles | men | women | |
| Doubles | men | women | mixed |
| Team | men | women | |
The 1991 World Table Tennis Championships were held in Chiba from April 24 to May 6, 1991. [1] [2]
North Korea and South Korea fielded a unified team under the name Korea (コリア [3] [4] Koria), the first of all Unified Korean sporting teams. The women's Korean team captured the gold medal by topping China, winners of eight consecutive titles since 1975, 3–2 in the final.
Prior to the competition, North and South Korea discussed the possibility of the first unified football and table tennis teams since Korea's division. In February 1991, they agreed to the creation of the unified table tennis team to compete at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships. [5] According to Chang Ung, International Olympic Committee member from North Korea, the decision took 22 rounds of talks between the Koreas and five months. [6]
The team used "Korea" (Korean hangul: 코리아, McCune–Reischauer: K'oria, Revised Romanization: Koria, Japanese: コリアKoria) as the country name avoiding Hanguk (한국) or Chosŏn (조선). It also used the Korean Unification Flag as the national flag and Arirang as the national anthem. [7] Upon defeating the supposedly "unbeatable" Chinese team, the women's team caused a big sensation in Korea.
A South Korean movie Korea (코리아) ("As one") was released on May 3, 2012, and describes the story of the women's team. Hyun Jung-Hwa was portrayed by Ha Ji-won and Li Bun-Hui by Bae Doona. [5] [8]
The Korean Unification Flag is a flag designed to represent all of Korea when North and South Korea participate as one team in sporting events.
Ryu Seung-min is a Korean table tennis player who won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's singles competition. His opponent was Wang Hao, a top-seeded player from Chinese national team. Along the way, he defeated 1992 Olympic champion Jan-Ove Waldner with 4–1. At the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics he was part of the South Korean team that won the bronze and silver medals respectively. Ryu is ranked twenty-fifth in the world as of July 2013. In 2016, Ryu became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), he was a member and Chair of the Athletes' Commission of the South Korean National Olympic Committee from 2016 to 2019. Since 2018, he counts among the ITTF Foundation Ambassadors, promoting sport for development and peace.
Wang Hao is a retired Chinese table tennis player. He became the world champion in men's singles in Yokohama, Japan, in May 2009, defeating three-time World Champion Wang Liqin 4–0. His other notable accomplishments include being a three-time World Cup Champion in 2007, 2008 and 2010, a singles silver medalist at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics. In January 2010, he was replaced by Ma Long as the #1 rank on the official ITTF world rankings. He was previously ranked #1 on the official ITTF world rankings for 27 consecutive months, from October 2007 to December 2009. In April 2011, he was again the top ranked male player in the world. He is known to execute the Reverse Penhold Backhand (RPB) with exceptional skill.
Wang Nan is a female Chinese table tennis player from Liaoning. Wang remained as world #1 on the ITTF ranking system from January, 1999 to November, 2002. She is left-handed, and began playing table tennis when she was seven years old. Her particular skills are changing the placement of the ball during rallies and her loop drive, as well as her notable speed. Wang has been the leader of the women's table-tennis team of China after Deng Yaping's retirement. In terms of achievements, she is one of the most successful female table tennis players having won the gold medal in each of the Table Tennis World Cup, the Table Tennis World Championships, and the Olympic Games.
Historically, North Korea's participation in international sporting events has been hindered by the relations with South Korea. Until the 1990s, North Korea used to host up to 14 international events every year, albeit in small scale. Since the early 1990s, the amount was reduced to just one, the Paektusan Prize International Figure Skating Festival. More recently, since the 2000s, North Korea both participates in and hosts more international competitions.
Oh Sang-eun is a South Korean table tennis player. He is currently sponsored by the table tennis product company, Butterfly. His World Ranking had been in the top 10 since the 2005 World Championships in Shanghai until April 2008. His highest ranking was number 5 in May 2007.
Priscila Tommy is a ni-Vanuatu table tennis player.
Shen Yanfei is a female Chinese-born table tennis player who now represents Spain and resides in Cartagena, Murcia.
Hyun Jung-hwa is a retired table tennis player from South Korea who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Li Bun-hui is a former table tennis player from North Korea who competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Liu Shiwen is a Chinese table tennis player. She is a five-time World Cup champion, one-time World Champion, three-time ITTF World Tour Grand Finals champion and four-time Asian Cup champion. She is known to be one of the fastest players in the world.
Ichiro Ogimura was a Japanese table tennis player, coach, president of the ITTF and former World No. 1 who won 12 World Championship titles during his career. Ogimura was also a key figure in the Ping Pong Diplomacy events of the early 1970s, as well as being instrumental in Korea playing as a unified team at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships.
Table tennis at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London took place from Saturday 28 July to Wednesday 8 August 2012 at ExCeL London. 174 athletes, 86 men and 88 women, competed in four events. Table tennis has appeared at the Summer Olympics on six previous occasions beginning with the 1988 Games in Seoul. In addition to men's and women's singles, the team events were staged for the second time since replacing doubles events at the 2008 Beijing Games. China was the defending champion in each of the Olympic events having won all 4 gold medals in 2008.
As One is a 2012 South Korean sports drama film starring Ha Ji-won and Bae Doona. It is a cinematic retelling of the first ever post-war Unified Korea sports team which won the women's team gold medal at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan. Director Moon Hyun-sung used the foundation of true events to tell the story of a team that united a divided nation for the first time in its painful history.
Table tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 6 to 17 August 2016 at the third pavilion of Riocentro. Around 172 table tennis players competed in both the singles and team events. Table tennis had appeared at the Summer Olympics on seven previous occasions beginning with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. In addition to men's and women's singles, the team events were staged for the third time since replacing doubles events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Dmitry Vyacheslavovich Mazunov is a Russian table tennis player. He won a bronze medal, along with his brother Andrey Mazunov, in the men's doubles at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan, representing the Soviet Union. As of January 2010, Mazunov is ranked no. 105 in the world by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). Mazunov is a member of TTF Liebherr Ochenhausen in Ochsenhausen, Germany, and is coached and trained by Mikhail Nosov. He is also right-handed, and uses the attacking grip.
The 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships were held in Halmstad, Sweden from 29 April to 6 May 2018.
Miu Hirano is a Japanese table tennis player. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Women's team, winning a silver medal.
A unified team of North and South Korea has played at certain sports competitions under the name Korea.
The 2019 ITTF Team World Cup was a table tennis competition that took place in Tokyo, Japan, from 6 to 10 November 2019. It was the 12th edition of the ITTF-sanctioned event, and also served as one of the test events for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
