Kim Min-seok (table tennis player)

Kim Min-seok
Kim (2013)
Other spellings:	김민석
Nation:	South Korea
Date of birth:	January 25, 1992
Place of birth:	Seoul
Size:	175 cm
Weight:	71 kg
Playing hand:	Right handed
How to play:	Shakehand
Current world rankings :	397
Best world ranking :	15 (April 2014)

Kim Min-seok ( kor .: 김민석 ; born January 25, 1992 in Seoul ) is a South Korean table tennis professional . He won two bronze medals at world championships with the team and won two medals at the Universiade in 2015. He is right-handed and uses the European shakehand style . He is considered one of the best South Korean players.

Career

He had his first international appearances in 2009 at the World Youth Championships, where he was able to secure bronze in individual and with the team. In doubles and mixed he failed prematurely.

He also took part in the Asian Youth Championships, but met Wong Chun Ting in the quarterfinals, to whom he was defeated mt 2-4. In 2010, Kim also played tournaments in the adult sector, including the Japan Open.

Here he met Jun Mizutani in the quarterfinals and lost. At the Asian Cup he had to admit defeat to Ma Lin . In 2011 further appearances followed, at the Harmony China Open he defeated the reigning top 10 player Vladimir Samsonov and was able to improve over 15 places in the world rankings .

At the World Team Cup, the Korean selection met defending champion China in the final , which they lost. He himself lost his game against Xu Xin . Because of his good performance he was nominated for the Pro Tour Grand Finals, but in the U-21 competition.

He was able to assert himself against Chen Feng and thereby won the title. In 2012 Kim won the bronze medal with the team at the World Cup . He also took part in the German Open for the first time , where he lost in the decisive set against Gao Ning .

Another minus counter followed in the round of 16 of the Hungarian Open, this time against Simon Gauzy . In 2013 he finished third at the Japan Open on home soil and at the World Championships in Paris he met old master Kalinikos Kreanga , to whom he lost.

Nevertheless, the South Korean was able to qualify for the Grand Finals in December and was able to make the success perfect by winning the bronze medal.

2014 was a relatively successful year for Kim: He finished third at the Kuwait Open, as well as at the World Cup , but there with the team.

In 2015 he finished in the last 32 at the World Cup , but was defeated by Fan Zhendong . He won bronze at the Bulgaria and Korea Open. In 2016 he still took part in the China Open and then appeared less and less.

Overview of titles and successes

• Bronze medal at the world championship with the team in 2012, 2014
• Bronze medal at the 2013 Pro Tour Grand Finals
• Bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships in doubles
• Silver medal at the World Team Cup 2011
• Bronze medal at the Asian Games in doubles 2010; Silver with the team
• Silver medal at the Asian Championships in doubles 2012; Bronze with the team
• Gold medal at the Universiade in mixed doubles 2015; Bronze in men's doubles

Web links

• Kim Min-seok (table tennis player) biography on the website of the table tennis world association ittf.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ tabletennis.guide: Table tennis: video, photos, rankings, analytics. Retrieved November 16, 2018 . 

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Kim is the family name here, Min-seok is the first name.