Kim Kum-yong
| Kim Kum-yong | |||||||||||||||
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| Native name | 김금영 | ||||||||||||||
| Born | August 17, 2001 Pyongyang, North Korea | ||||||||||||||
Table tennis career  | |||||||||||||||
| Playing style | Left-handed, shakehand grip | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Kim Kum-yong (Korean: 김금영; born 17 August 2001) is a North Korean table tennis player. She qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics and won a silver medal in the mixed doubles tournament along with Ri Jong-sik.
Biography
Kim was born on 17 August 2001 in Pyongyang, North Korea.[1] She is left-handed and uses the shakehand grip in table tennis.[2] She participated in her first two international competitions at the DPR Korea Open in 2018 and the Pyongyang Open in 2019.[3] She played at the 2019 Asian Junior and Cadet Table Tennis Championships and won the silver medal in the girls' team event; later that year, she competed in the World Junior Table Tennis Championships.[4]
Starting in 2020, North Korean players stopped competing internationally for three years, returning for the 2022 Asian Games (held in 2023), where Kim competed in four events, but did not medal.[3][5] In April 2024, Kim and her mixed doubles partner Ri Jong-sik qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics by defeating Spain in the ITTF World Olympic Qualification Tournament, 4–3.[6]
Kim and Ri, unranked by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) due to their limited experience in international competitions, were the last-ranked team in the Olympic mixed doubles competition and faced defending champion Japan – ranked second globally – in the opening round.[7][8] In a major upset, the North Korean pair defeated Japan by a score of 4–1.[7][9] The pair followed it up by defeating eighth-seeded Sweden and then fourth-seeded Hong Kong to reach the tournament finals against China.[8][10] They were defeated in the finals, 4–2, and thus received the silver medal, becoming the first Olympic medal-winners from North Korea in eight years.[11][12]
References
- ^ "Kim Kum-yong". Eurosport.com.
- ^ "Kim Kum Yong: video, ranking". TableTennis.Guide.
- ^ a b "Kim Kum Yong - results at the ITTF tournaments". TableTennis.Guide.
- ^ Daish, Simon (25 November 2019). "Outstanding in Ulaanbaator, same again in Korat". International Table Tennis Federation.
- ^ Ahn, Hong-seok (22 September 2023). "[아시안게임] 북한 여자탁구, 3년만의 국제무대 복귀전서 대만 제압" [[Asian Games] North Korea women's table tennis defeats Taiwan in return to the international stage after 3 years] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency.
- ^ Yun-seok, Ahn (13 April 2024). "북 탁구 혼성복식팀, 파리 올림픽 참가 자격 획득" [North Korea table tennis mixed doubles team qualified for Paris Olympics]. SPNews.co.kr (in Korean).
- ^ a b Ahn, Hong-seok (28 July 2024). "[올림픽] 북한 리정식-김금용, 탁구 혼복서 우승 후보 일본 제압 '대이변'" [[Olympic Games] North Korea's Ri Jeong-sik and Kim Geum-yong beat Japan, the candidates for the table tennis mixed boxing title, in a 'great upset'] (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency.
- ^ a b "Ri and Kim from Democratic People's Republic of Korea reach table tennis mixed doubles final". Olympics.com. 29 July 2024 – via archive.ph.
- ^ Hu, Krystal (28 July 2024). "Japan's Olympic mixed doubles table tennis team stunned in first round". The Japan Times.
- ^ Hu, Krystal (29 July 2024). "Table Tennis-North Korea reaches mixed doubles final to challenge China". Reuters.
- ^ "북한, 8년 만 올림픽 메달…탁구 혼복 리정식-김금용 銀[올림픽]" [North Korea wins Olympic medal after 8 years... Table Tennis Mixed Ri Jeong-sik - Kim Geum-yong Silver [Olympic]]. SPNews.co.kr (in Korean). 30 July 2024.
- ^ "North Korea Win First Olympic Medal In Eight Years With Table Tennis Silver". Barron's. Agence France-Presse. 30 July 2024.