Oh Joon-sung (Mirae Asset Securities), who is growing at a breakneck speed, will pass the “ace” position on the wind of change that has blown into the Korean men’s table tennis.

Oh Joon-sung won the men’s singles final at the 77th Shinhan SOL National Men’s and Women’s Table Tennis Championships held at Dangjin Gymnasium in Chungcheongnam-do on the 15th, beating his teammate and one-year senior Park Kyu-hyun by 3-2 (8-114-11-6 13-11-11-3).

Oh Jun-sung, born in 2006 and a 17-year-old junior, set the record for the youngest men’s singles winner in the tournament.

Oh Jun-sung dropped out of high school last year and joined Mirae Asset Securities. This year was Oh Jun-sung’s de facto debut season on the business stage.

It is also unusual for him to win the men’s singles in the first year of unemployment. Ahn Jae-hyung, Yoo Nam-gyu, and Park Kang-hyun are the only three players who won the men’s singles title in the first year ahead of Oh Jun-seong.

Above all, Oh Jun-sung’s victory is symbolic in that it reflects the shift of the central axis of Korean men’s table tennis toward younger players.

The men’s singles semifinal match was organized as a match between “young guns.”

Oh Joon-sung and Park Kyu-hyun advanced to the finals after beating Cho Dae-sung (21, Samsung Life Insurance) and Woo Hyung-kyu (21, Mirae Asset Securities), who are players in their early 20s, respectively, in the semifinals.

Then, teenagers who beat their seniors in the semifinals faced off in the finals.

Im Jong-hoon (Korea Exchange), who won two silver medals and one bronze medal at this year’s Hangzhou Asian Games, was eliminated early after losing to Woo Hyung-kyu in the round of 16.

Jang Woo-jin, who is considered the “two-top” of Korean men’s table tennis along with Im Jong-hoon, did not participate in the tournament.

With all three games from the semifinals being held in a tight flow, Oh Jun-sung, the youngest of them, became the champion.

Oh Joon-sung has been highly anticipated as the “next ace” as he was evaluated as a player of table tennis. He showed that he is well qualified to compete for the “ace” position by winning the championship.

Experiencing deep ups and downs this year as a national team member seems to have been the driving force behind becoming a domestic champion.

Oh Jun-sung passed the national team selection match in April and became the youngest national team player.

In July, he participated in the Asian Youth Championship as a member of the junior national team and won a gold medal with Park Kyu-hyun.

However, in October, he was eliminated early at the Asian Championships in Pyeongchang, and had to realize the “high wall” of the international stage.

In the subsequent Hangzhou Asian Games, he helped his brothers in the team event to win the silver medal.

Oh Jun-sung, who has grown steeply, looks higher.

The Busan World Team Championship will be held in February next year. The 2024 Paris Olympics are waiting in July.

“I’m so proud to win the title at the highest championship,” Oh said. “I want to pass the Busan World Championship and play with the national flag. I want to participate in all the big competitions to come.” 파워볼