Shin Yu-bin reaches women's singles semifinals in table tennis

PARIS -- Shin Yu-bin advanced to the semifinals of the women's singles table tennis tournament at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, moving within a win of grabbing her second medal in the French capital.

Shin, world No. 8, edged out 13th-ranked Miu Hirano of Japan 4-3 (11-4, 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 8-11, 9-11, 13-11) in the quarterfinals at South Paris Arena 4 in Paris.

Shin, who won the mixed doubles bronze medal on Tuesday, will next play world No. 4 from China, Chen Meng, in the semifinals on Friday.

South Korea has not claimed a medal in the women's singles since Kim Kyung-ah's bronze in 2004.

Shin appeared to be in complete control against Hirano, winning the first three games with relative ease.

Shin won seven consecutive points to jump out to a 7-1 lead in the opening game en route to an 11-4 win. Hirano held a 4-2 lead early in the second game but Shin promptly won five straight points to go up 7-4. She never trailed again as she took the second game 11-7.

Hirano still didn't seem to have any answers against Shin in the third game. And after dropping that frame 11-5, Hirano took a break to change her shirt. She then went out and won the fourth game 11-7 and extended the match further by winning the fifth game 11-8.

The pendulum was completely on Hirano's side after the Japanese won the sixth game 11-9, with Shin struggling with her backhand.

In the deciding game, Shin staved off a match point down 10-9. Shin then went up 12-11 when Hirano sent her return long, and closed out the 80-minute duel by forcing Hirano to hit a shot into the net.

The thriller left both players in tears afterward.

Shin said afterward her tears were of relief.

"I thought to myself, 'This is finally over,'" said Shin, who didn't cry after clinching her first Olympic medal in the mixed doubles. "I won't forget this match."

Shin admitted she was running on fumes late in the match and said, "I didn't hit the ball where I wanted to. But when we got to the seventh game, I knew I had to be aggressive no matter what."

By narrowly avoiding a stunning collapse, Shin put herself in position to end South Korea's long drought in the singles. She could do so by upsetting Chen, who won two gold medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, or winning the bronze medal match later.

Shin said she didn't know she had become the first South Korean singles table tennis player, male or female, to reach an Olympic semifinals in 20 years.

"I've just been taking it one match at a time to come this far," she said. "But the competition is not over yet. I'm going to eat well, get good rest and analyze my next opponent."

Earlier Thursday, Jang Woo-jin was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the men's singles.

Jang, world No. 13, lost to sixth-ranked Brazilian Hugo Calderano 4-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6) at South Paris Arena in Paris.

Jang had also lost to Calderano in the round of 16 at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He has beaten Calderano just once in six meetings so far.

South Korea has not won a medal in the men's singles since Ryu Seung-min captured the gold medal in 2004.

Jang had no answer to Calderano's strong backhand from early on, dropping the first game in just five minutes.

Down 7-4 in the second game, Jang pulled into a tie with three straight points, only to see Calderano win the next four points to win the game and take a 2-0 lead.

Calderano turned a 6-4 lead into an 11-5 win in the third game, as Jang continued to miss with his forehand.

The Brazilian then won the last four points of the deciding game to book a ticket to the semifinals. (Yonhap)