North Korea win first Olympic medal in eight years with table tennis silver

North Korea said they could learn from China after winning their first Olympic medal in eight years on Tuesday in Paris, settling for silver after a mixed-doubles defeat to the table tennis superpower. China arrived in Paris as the world’s undisputed table tennis kings, having won 32 of the 37 available golds since it became an Olympic sport.

They failed to claim the mixed doubles title when it was introduced three years ago in Tokyo but Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha set the record straight with an 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8 win over North Korea’s Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong.

It was the first gold of what China hope will be a clean sweep of table tennis in the French capital. For North Korea, they skipped the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 over coronavirus concerns.

Kim said she and Ri had trained with the Chinese team to prepare for Paris and vowed to come back stronger. "We had some time with the Chinese team, which is the world’s best,” said the 22-year-old. "Of course it wasn’t enough in the end. We had a good performance but there are some regrets. We learned a lot from them.”

Ri and Kim were on the medals podium with the South Korean duo Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin, who won bronze. When asked if they saw the South Korean pair as their rivals, Kim and Ri both shook their heads.

Kim said they had not yet been able to speak to their family to tell them about the match. "We hope to do better next time and win the gold,” she said.

Wang and Sun have not lost outside China for four years and they are the world’s number one-ranked pair. They had overwhelming support from the red-clad fans inside the standing room-only South Paris Arena, cheering and chanting throughout the match.

But Sun admitted that the element of the unknown made it difficult to face the North Korean pair. "It’s quite rare to have a North Korean pair in international competition,” she said. "We had never played them before. They have strengths and they have been able to beat a lot of opponents. They have a distinctive style,” she added.