Shin Yu-bin (19, Korean Air) came back after recovering from an injury. Her confident and relaxed appearance made her look forward to Shin Yubin in the future.
Shin Yu-bin participated in the 2023 Korea Professional Table Tennis League (KTTL) Women’s Korea League (Corporate Division) match between Korean Air and POSCO International held on the 5th.
In the team match, which consisted of 4 singles matches and 1 doubles match, Shin Yu-bin won 2 wins in the 1st and 4th singles matches. In the first singles match, Shin Yu-bin defeated Kim Na-yeong (18), her rival and dubbed ‘the second Shin Yu-bin’, 2-0. In the 4th singles, she defeated veteran Yang Ha-eun (29), who was called the ‘undefeated woman’, by 2-0.
Shin Yu-bin underwent surgery for a stress fracture on her wrist in May last year and underwent a long rehabilitation. This tournament is her domestic competition and her KTTL debut, which she participated in 1 year and 5 months after the spring unemployment competition in September 2021.
Shin Yubin scored 2 match points, but the match ended with Posco International winning 3-2. After the game, Shin Yu-bin said, “I am still in about 80% condition. As a player, injuries are inevitable. I have to overcome it,” she said. “As much as you waited for a long time, I will take good care of my body and repay you with a good game.”
Shin Yu-bin showed off her excellent connection skills and calm game management in her singles match against Kim Na-young. At the beginning of the game, Shin Yu-bin seemed a bit nervous, and a close match continued. In a 9-9 situation, she made 10 points with her backhand attack, and then she showed leisure to win the game with a powerful forehand.
Even in the early stages of the close match, Shin Yubin smiled as if she was having fun between plays. On this day, when commentator Seok Eun-mi, who relayed the game, asked, “I often smiled during the game, was it deliberately conscious to find composure?” She even shared snacks prepared separately with Kim Na-young after the first singles match. 안전놀이터
The 4th match was a match where Shin Yubin’s strong mentality could be confirmed. When Shin Yubin started her 4th match, her team was 1-2 behind. Moreover, the opponent is Yang Ha-eun, who was the best KTTL player last season and is recording 11 singles wins this season.
However, Shin Yu-bin overpowered Yang Ha-eun in power and won the victory without losing the lead. Shin Yu-bin stopped Yang Ha-eun’s 11-game winning streak in singles.
In the KTTL Women’s Korea League, Posco International kept first place. In the men’s Korea League, Samsung Life Insurance is leading the way. Shin Yu-bin’s Korean Air is in third place.
Meanwhile, Yubin Shin had a successful comeback on the international stage in the second half of last year when she competed in the Asian qualifiers for the World Table Tennis (WTT) World Championships. Yubin Shin will improve her team’s performance at KTTL in the future while preparing for the WTT World Championships in Durban, South Africa in May.