"Jeon taught me many things about table tennis. We got the best results together, and she was the best partner."
South Korean women's table tennis ace Shin Yoo-bin (copyright) praised Jeon Ji-hee, her senior and doubles partner, after the round of 64 women's singles against Jeon Ji-hee, who retired at the World Table Tennis (WTT) "Singapore Smash 2025" held in Singapore on the 3rd.
Jeon Ji-hee ended her 14-year active career with a Singapore smash.
In the game, Shin Yu-bin won 3-0, but at the end of the third game, he held a spectacular rally with a pleasant smile and hugged Shin Yu-bin, the "soul combination," and drew a heart.
It was actually the last game in which Jeon Ji-hee played as a Korean player.
He left for China without participating in the nation's most prestigious all-around championships, which took place in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, from Dec. 7-24 last year.
He did not renew his contract with Mirae Asset Securities, whose contract ends in December, and returned the national team he had attached.
He put down the national flag himself even though he could be automatically selected for this year's national team by ranking in the top three points based on the total performance of domestic and foreign competitions.
Jeon Ji-hee's return to the national flag also dismantled her "golden duo" with Shin Yu-bin, who is 12 years younger than her.
Jeon Ji-hee teamed up with Shin Yu-bin at the World Championships in Durban, South Africa, in May 2023 to reach the women's doubles final and collaborate for a silver medal.
The advance to the women's doubles final at the World Championships was a valuable achievement in 36 years since the gold medal of the Yang Young-ja-Hyun Jung-hwa duo at the 1987 New Delhi Games.
The duo of Jeon Ji-hee and Shin Yu-bin won the women's doubles title at the Hangzhou Asian Games held in September the same year. The gold medal for women's doubles at the Asian Games was the first in 21 years since the 2002 Busan Games.
Jeon Ji-hee and Shin Yu-bin teamed up with Germany in the women's team match to win their first doubles title at the Paris Olympics in August last year.
Jeon Ji-hee also beat her opponent 3-0 in the third singles and confirmed her first Olympic medal in Korean women's table tennis in 16 years.
The mixed group World Cup held in Chengdu, China in November last year was a farewell stage where Jeon Ji-hee last worked with Shin Yu-bin.
Korea beat Japan and others to become the runner-up at the mixed group World Cup after China for the second consecutive year. It was the most splendid period of Jeon Ji-hee's life as a table tennis player with Shin.
Jeon Ji-hee, who is native to Langfang, Hebei Province, China, was the Chinese youth representative and was the runner-up in the Asian Youth Championship singles in 2007, but she stepped on Korean soil in 2008 without achieving her national dream.
He started his career in Korea by joining POSCO Power, which was founded in March 2011, and naturalized to Korea that year and played at domestic and international competitions.
Jeon Ji-hee played for South Korea for more than a decade from the 2014 Incheon Asian Games to the Paris Olympics.
Wearing the Taegeuk mark, the Olympic bronze medal, the world championship silver medal, one gold medal at the Asian Games, five bronze medals, one gold medal at the Asian Championship, three silver medals and two bronze medals are the brilliant report cards he received.
It was the best performance among naturalized players ever, including Guofang Fang, Dang Ye-seo, and Seok Ha-jung.
He also won the women's singles title three times (2015, 2017, 2019) at the nation's most prestigious all-around championships. 먹튀검증
The Korea Table Tennis Association (Chairman Lee Tae-sung) will give a special award at the "table tennis association award 2024" event on the 14th in recognition of Jeon Ji-hee's performance as a member of the Korean national team.
"He was a naturalized player who not only achieved the best performance among naturalized players but was also a model for them with strong enthusiasm and sincere attitude," said Kim Hyung-seok, head coach of Hwaseong City Corporation who first recruited Jeon in 2011. "He contributed greatly to Korean table tennis through doubles with Shin. I hope he remembers his dedication."