PARIS - South Korea collected two bronze medals on the penultimate day of the Paris Olympics, maintaining its strong performance but falling short of breaking its Summer Games medal record.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean women's table tennis team defeated Germany to claim one of the bronzes. The team, composed of Shin Yu-bin, Jeon Ji-hee, and Lee Eun-hye, won 3-0 against their German counterparts, Shan Xiaona, Wan Yuan, and Annett Kaufmann. The series included a nail-biting doubles match and two successive singles victories, which solidified South Korea's second medal in this event since 2008. Notably, Shin Yu-bin also became the first South Korean table tennis player in 32 years to win multiple medals at a single Olympics.
The day concluded with Lee Da-bin earning a bronze in the women's +67-kilogram taekwondo event, marking South Korea's third medal in this martial art at the Paris Games. Lee, the 2021 Olympic silver medalist, secured her medal after a victory over Germany's Lorena Brandl, following an earlier defeat in the semifinals.
While these successes added to the national tally, several South Korean athletes fell short in their events. Notably, Woo Sang-hyeok placed seventh in the men's high jump, and Jun Woong-tae finished sixth in the men's modern pentathlon after errors in the shooting segment of the laser run. In women's golf, Amy Yang narrowly missed a bronze medal playoff, finishing just one shot behind.
As the Games approach their final day, South Korea has amassed 30 medals and still holds a mathematical chance to match or surpass its all-time Summer Games record of 33 medals, set in Seoul in 1988. With athletes like Seong Seung-min and Kim Sun-woo in the modern pentathlon finals and Park Hye-jeong in women's weightlifting, hopes remain high for additional medals.