Table tennis Park Hong-gyu, disabled AG wins 3-2 in the first North-South match in 12 years

Park Hong-gyu (53, Chungbuk Disabled Sports Association) achieved a come-from-behind victory in the North-South table tennis match at the Asian Para Games held for the first time in 12 years.

Park Hong-gyu defeated North Korea's Jeon Ju-hyun (40) with a game score of 3-2 (6-11 6-11 11-6 11-7 11-7) in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games Table Tennis Men's Singles (Sports Grade 6) preliminary round held at Sky Hall Toyota in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan on the 19th.

This meeting was the second North-South table tennis match held at the Asian Para Games.

The North Korean table tennis team first participated in the 2014 Incheon Games and played against North and South Korea once.

North and South Korea participated as a unified team in the 2018 Jakarta Games, and North Korea did not participate in the 2022 Hangzhou Games due to issues with raising the national flag.

North Korea had only two players, Jeon Joo-hyun and Kim Young-rok, participate in this tournament.

Jeon Joo-hyun is a medal candidate who won the team event at the 2019 Asian Championships and the singles event at the 2025 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Para Asian Championships.

Korea's Park Hong-gyu is also a veteran who has won 51 medals in international competitions, including the singles gold medal at the 2014 Incheon Games.

The first North-South match 12 years ago was also a match between two players.

Park Hong-gyu, who won 3-1 in the semifinals at the time, has won all three times against Jeon Joo-hyun since last year's Asian Championships in China.

On this day, Park Hong-gyu lost two games first because his early defensive strategy did not work. However, starting from game 3, he used powerful smashes and won three games.

Park Hong-gyu, who we met in the joint coverage area (mixed zone) after the game, said, "I was a bit lost at first. I was dragged around and got a feel for it, and I think I played my game later." He laughed and said, "Strangely, I always stick with Jeon Joo-hyun. I'm worried because we know each other's strengths too well."

However, he expressed regret at not being able to communicate freely with Jeon Joo-hyun.

He said, "We're acquaintances, so even if I wanted to act like we were friends, I couldn't. It's a shame we just shook hands and parted ways."

Jeon Joo-hyun remained silent and left the joint reporting area.

The North Korean players and coaching staff avoided the reporters' gaze and only said briefly, "We will do an interview after the game (competition) is over."

Despite winning that day, Park Hong-gyu could not avoid being eliminated from the preliminary round.

He recorded 1 win and 1 loss alongside Jeon Joo-hyun and Runrot Tainiyom (40, Thailand), but was behind in game goal loss percentage.

Park Hong-gyu lost to Runrot 1-3, and Jeon Joo-hyun defeated Runrot 3-2.

Park Hong-gyu pledged to do well in the remaining matches, saying, “We have doubles and mixed doubles, so we have to work hard.”