Unified Korean ping pong team reaches mixed doubles final

SEOUL, July 20 (Yonhap) -- A unified Korean mixed doubles team reached the final at an international table tennis tournament in South Korea on Friday.

The tandem of Jang Woo-jin (South Korea) and Cha Hyo-sim (North Korea) knocked off Chen Chien-An and Cheng I-Ching of Taiwan 3-2 (6-11, 11-5, 16-14, 11-6, 11-4) in the semifinals of the International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Platinum Korea Open in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.

In Saturday's final at Chungmu Sports Arena, Jang and Cha will face Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha of China. The Chinese duo defeated South Korea's Lim Jong-hoon and Yang Ha-eun in the other semifinal match Friday.

Jang and Cha, unseeded, had to get through the qualification stage Tuesday. They have since taken down the second-seeded Wong Chun Ting-Doo Hoi Kem (Hong Kong), fifth-seeded Ho Kwan Kit-Lee Ho Ching and fourth-seeded Chen-Cheng.

They are one of four pan-Korean doubles teams at this tournament. One other mixed doubles team, Choe Il (North) and Yoo Eun-chong (South), lost in the round of 16 on Thursday. The women's doubles team of Suh Hyo-won (South) and Kim Song-i (North) also fell in the round of 16. But in the men's doubles, Lee Sang-su (South) and Pak Sin-hyok (North) advanced to the semifinals with a win earlier Friday.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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