Back-to-back titles in June in Lagos
Third career contender singles title
Shin Yubin “Piyak” Shin (19, Korean Air – pictured) won two singles and doubles titles at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender event. The WTT is the governing body of the world’s professional table tennis tour and organizes competitions in four categories: Champions, Star Contenders, Contenders and Feeders.
Shin, ranked No. 9 in the world in singles, defeated Bernadette Sötz (28-Romania, No. 16) 4-1 (9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7) in the Contender Women’s Singles final on July 7 in Lima, Peru. This is the second time this year that Shin has won a Contender singles title, following her victory in Lagos (Nigeria) in June, and the third time in her career, including a victory in Novgorica (Slovenia) last November.
Shin was also paired with Jeon Jeon-hee (31-Mirae Asset Securities) in the women’s doubles final, where they defeated Kim Na-young (18-Fosco International) and Choi Hyo-joo (25-Korea Horse Society) 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 13-11, 12-10). Shin Yubin was also at the top of her game in Lagos, winning both singles and doubles. The duo is currently ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles.
Shin also competed in the mixed doubles event with Lim Jong-hoon (26, Korea Exchange), but fell short of winning the tournament’s third title after losing 1-3 to Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu (34) and Schutz in the semifinals on Friday. For Shin, the mixed doubles loss to Sötz was redeemed in singles.
Shin will compete in the Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) Contender on Aug. 8 before returning home on Aug. 16 to prepare for the Pyeongchang Asian Table Tennis Championships and the Hangzhou Asian Games next month. “After winning two titles in Lima, I’m determined to keep the momentum going and perform well at the Hangzhou Asian Games,” 고스톱 said Shin.