PARIS: North Korea has secured its first Olympic medal in eight years after the nation's enigmatic mixed doubles team defeated Hong Kong, advancing to the finals for a showdown with the formidable China.
China's Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha also made it to the final after a tough match against the third-seeded Korean team of Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin.
Lim and Shin claimed the first set and fiercely contested the following two sets, both ending 11-9, as they alternated winning points. However, they ultimately succumbed with a 4-2 defeat.
To claim gold, China will need to overcome the North Korean team of Kim Kum Yong and Ri Jong Sik, who have rarely competed in international tournaments until the Paris Olympics.
Kim and Ri, aged 22 and 24 respectively, are first-time Olympians who managed to defeat Hong Kong's resilient team in a grueling 4-3 match that stretched to over an hour.
Victory is not guaranteed even for China's dream team.
"Tomorrow is going to be our hardest fight to date. We haven't played against the North Korean team. So we'll prepare more on our coordinations," said Sun.
Earlier on Monday, China's number two seed Fan Zhendong and defending champion Chen Meng swept past their opponents 4-0 in the first round of the men's singles event at the Paris Olympics.
Fan beat Ukraine's Yaroslav Zhmudenko while Chen ousted Algeria's Lynda Loghraibi to reach the round of 32.
Fan, who posted that Paris could be his "last dance" on China's social media platform Weibo, had lost to the great Ma Long 4-2 in the final in Tokyo without fans due to COVID-19.
"The biggest difference in this game is the atmosphere from the audience. I was here to check out the venue yesterday and to be honest, I didn't expect this. When I play, I think it's an inspiration to me," said Fan.
Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto, a major challenge to the Chinese, beat Belgium's Martin Allegro 4-0 to bounce back from a surprise elimination by North Korea in the first round of mixed doubles.
Senegal's Ibrahima Diaw, who was born to a Senegalese father and grew up in Paris, and Hong Kong's Wong Chun-ting delivered a riveting performance lasting an hour before the latter triumphed 4-3, having won a particularly intense second set 18-16.
In another gripping clash, Poland's Natalia Bajor also beat Thailand's Suthasini Sawettabut 4-3 in another marathon match. - Reuters