By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff reporter
It's always been a case of China against the world in the sport of table tennis, and it has come out on top more times than not.
The South Korean men and women's national teams left Wednesday for Moscow, Russia, for the biennial World Team Championships, which kicks off Sunday, with hopes of overcoming the perennial favorites.
As always, the men's team is aiming to claim the top spot for the first time by defeating the ever-dominant Chinese players. South Korea has not had a single win over China in team events for 14 years, since a victory at the 1996 Asian Championships.
This year, the experienced trio of Joo Se-hyuk, Oh Sang-eun and Ryu Seung-min leads the squad, with the addition of 18-year-old rookie Jung Young-sik.
In a recent positive sign, Ryu, gold medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, beat the world No. 2 Wang Hao of China at February's Qatar Open, for his first win in nearly five years against the Chinese ace.
The second-seeded South Korean men will not meet their nemesis China until the final, and are expected to breeze through the group stage against Sweden, Czech Republic, Romania and Ukraine, but will still have to fend off some serious threats along the way.
Countries like Germany, Japan and Hong Kong are likely to stand in South Korea's way to the final, and have handed South Korea stunning losses in past encounters.
The women's goals are set lower than their male counterparts, after faltering in the past few years.
"This time we have a more practical goal of reaching the semifinals. Topping the group stage is our foremost duty," women's team coach Hyun Jung-hwa said.
Remaining near the top for many years, they suffered a nightmarish time in the previous event two years ago in Guangzhou, China, when they ended in 11th, their worst-ever result.
Veteran Kim Kyung-ah will head the women's campaign, flanked by Park Mi-young and Dang Ye-seo. The sixth-ranked Kim, bronze medalist at the Athens Olympics, will be in charge of the team's defensive duties along with 11th-ranked Park.
Chinese-turned-Korean player Dang, currently the world No. 16, will lead the more aggressive games with two younger attackers Seok Ha-jung and Moon Hyun-jung.
The first stage of their campaign looks tough. South Korea is grouped with Hong Kong, France, North Korea, Hungary and Ukraine, and the team's focus will be on the match against Hong Kong, with most of its lineup hailing from mainland China.
1 | Hotels grapple with chronic staff shortages |
![[INTERVIEW] 'Now is time for Koreans to unlock potential in Africa'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/9236a17d88ea472b862b237c9788069d.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Meet the man behind giant rubber ducks that once took over Seoul](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/df32c60c8204448e98ccdb9841366bec.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
