FULL MATCH | Kuai/Lin vs Kim/Park | ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025 (Stage 2)

Nice parallel from Kim Nayoung to cause a little bit of surprise. Good recovery, with Lin Shidong getting that much of a quality opening attack. Again, it just goes to show you how strong Park Donghyun is in the return game. So the Korean pair taking both points on receive. Good adjustment here, Lin Shidong looking pushed, recognized that he could take the opening attack. And it pays off. So far a server has not won a point. Lin Shidong's save was breathtaking. This ball could have bounced three times on the table, but Lin Shidong managed to get it right before the second bounce. A little bit of ITTK in a real sense, an instant table tennis karma in one point. It's just crazy to me that Lin Shidong can play such an uncomfortable ball, so spinny from off the middle. And it was shallow, and Park Donghyun times it. Would have been incredibly difficult to time that. Way out in front. Good drive into the elbow here is Lin Shidong. Kwai Man tie up the score at three points apiece. Towel breaks are not mandatory, they come up every six points. Just to make sure the players don't stall too much. We'll see them wiping their hands on the table in between towel breaks from time to time. Using their hands to signal and communicate between points. Both the receiving side and the serving side will communicate their plans with signals. Angle from Park Donghyun, but Kwai Man was keen, she was quick to be there. Short stroke counter. Again this low stance, quick side step to get there. Kim Baeyoung didn't have a lot of time for a backswing in this, but she kept the racket high, kept the ball in play. That one right there, she was set up for a backhand. And now the full stroke from just a step behind. Again the women tend to stay a little closer to the table playing the high speed game. Oh, that's going to leave a welt. Geez, some sting pong out here from Lin Shidong. That only to get a one point lead, but the business end of the game is where the champions come through. Beautiful side spin, a brushing backhand. As Kwai Man comes around that ball and leaves it arcing on the other side, bending into the backhand of Kwai Man. Excuse me, not herself, Kim Na Young. That would be crazy fast. Look here, straight underspin and the perfect read from Lin Shidong. Two points in a row, he's crossed over, committing to the backhand. This is how much more spin you can generate with the backhand while the ball is over the table. The side angle there was the perfect view to see how far inside the baseline Lin Shidong was when he committed to that opening attack. He comes in and times once again the runaway. It was 5-4 a moment ago. 4-4 before that? Team China two points away. Beautiful backhand and a recovery. Park Kyung Hyun chases, gets a little help off the top of the net. Kwai Man doesn't miss by much. Those net balls are tough to recover. It changes the timing, trajectory ever so slightly. Forehand for forehand, one after another. The lefty-righty combo sharing the space wonderfully and it's game point five times over for Kwai Man and Lin Shidong. Shot straight into the shoulder. This might sting for a minute. Kim Na Young now with the serves to Kwai Man. Good start here this time around from the Chinese pair. The opposite to the start of game one. Nice parallel. Soft flick comes in. Park Kyung Hyun is right there near the table. I think tactically the Korean pair is going to try to stay closer wherever they can. As soon as they back up it's just too much time to cause threat. But this push, lukewarm in between. We've seen what Lin Shidong can do to a ball anywhere near the baseline of the table. But of course it depends on the height, the positioning. So looking for a deeper shot. Something to cause a little bit of a cluster over in that forehand side for Lin Shidong. Getting him to cross in front of Kwai Man. Whatever the 4-2 was, it was quickly acknowledged. But just like the first five points of this game, quick. Glad to say the key word in that sentence. The hands, Lin Shidong on the receive is able to keep Kim Na Young from getting a real strong opening. So she plays a long push and it's Kwai Man who goes wide into the backhand side of the body. Testing Park Kyung Hyun to step around, see if he can make a forehand out of that. Just amazing how many different subtle variations there are that can cause trouble. Park Kyung Hyun slowing it down a little bit, taking some spin off on the flick. Yet still enough pressure to make it awkward. Back edge of the table here. Kwai Man spinning deep. Almost looked disgusted with herself for getting a little bit more fortune. See she was clearly embarrassed. Ah, the ITTK, the instant table tennis karma comes right back. The universe at work, like a three star ball. Man, what goes around comes around. Second Timberlake reference in two days. Two points up here. Chinese team was running way ahead. Good streak, some momentum with the Korea Republic team. And he goes for broke, playing it into the middle of the table. Park Kyung Hyun getting low, touching ground. Wow, Team China now with a timeout as they're up 6-5. Crowd says and then we get a reverse pendulum serve for an outright point. Right out of the timeout, into the towel break. It's two points that they lead by. A pair that was looking to cause a lot more damage from the start. After winning 11-5 in game one. Good set up and it takes so many full force forehands to cause a problem for the Chinese pair. Lin Shidong forced into fishing a little bit. Kim Na Young with some very active footwork to set up and get over that ball. Park Kyung Hyun once again able to put enough pressure on Lin Shidong that even from behind the table where Lin Shidong is so successful against many, even with the time, it's just too much pressure in that point. What hands, as soft as can be. Feathery touch dropping it just behind the net. Kim Na Young, perfect read on this serve. You could not drop it behind the net more gently and shallow than that. It really puts a lot on the mind of Kwai Man, who then has to play the ball and make sure she's out of the way. Out of the way, this one was sent right back to where Park Kyung Hyun was. Would have been very difficult. You can see Kim Na Young trying to reach it but not go too far at the same time. That ball just keeps bending. Wide stance there, she continues to stretch. Nice flick from Kwai Man. Business end of game number two. They take this game, they take the match, but they've only dropped one game total across all their team matches, Team China. Beautiful opening on the backhand, tucking, getting that racket head low and then whipping it open. Textbook perfect right there from Kim Na Young. Game point for Kim Na Young and Park Kyung Hyun. They're on receive one more time, but if they could defuse this timeout, they'd still have theirs and they'd be level. Last year, they only took one out of the nine they played against Team China. Incredible! Kwai Man recovers the net ball. Kim Na Young did everything right there. There's Team Zhejian, the coaches, the rest of the squad watch on, Team Physio and whatnot. Lin Shidong with the full spin there gets a lot into that. Yep, that's what it feels like when you play so well and still can't run away with the point. Deuce. Kim Na Young again in at the table, capturing the ball at its peak. Close to the net, it's a second game point for the Korean pair. Kim Na Young's receive that was dropped right behind the net on Kwai Man's forehand a few points ago was unbelievable. This one here, Lin Shidong finds a way to get a receive popped up just enough for Kwai Man to clobber. Push comes long and Kwai Man is there to deliver the quality. So after saving two game points, the Chinese pair now have a game and match point. Full stroke, just a little bit of clearance around that corner. Park Kyung Hyun with some massive confidence. We've seen left-handers step around before on shots like this. That's dangerously close to the sharp edge of a very sturdy table. But fearless Park Kyung Hyun has the courage to do what is required here to save a game point. Fourth towel break, completely optional. Kim Na Young put in a tough position and Kwai Man right there. One more time to take advantage, Lin Shidong spinning it well into the elbow of Kim Na Young. Another game point for the Chinese pair. Net and out, they take the game in the match, 14-12. Game number three, they will switch sides when one pair has five points. Looking for that line, but the table didn't move to support Lin Shidong on that. Nice parallel backhand just wide. Calibrated perfectly with the closed racket, Park Kyung Hyun on top of that heavy spin opening. This is the same pattern of play we saw in game number one. The same score line as well, the Korean pair took both points on receive to start it off. And then this happened as well, at least scoreboard wise. Clever idea, the Chiquita. Trying to get a bit of side with the topspin here, Kim Na Young. Stays on the Korean side, the Chinese pair take the point and the lead. Look all the time, here it is. Korean team needs it. Park Kyung Hyun to receive. So free, that forehand at full extension. Lin Shidong putting that point to rest. Takes a while here, but remember, soft hands, tough to keep it short from the baseline. Very quick play. Decision making, the quicker you decide, the more time you have to execute. A little fortunate at the back of the table here on the flick. They will change sides in order of play, team China. The Chinese pair up by three points. Now Korea's been one of the strongest teams in the world behind team China for the last decade or so. And even then some, if you think back to the coaches, the, well, Osang-un days. Kim Tak-su, Yu Sung-min, let alone Yu Nam-gyu, first Olympic men's singles gold medalist. So Korea's been strong for decades. That said, there are a handful of other teams that are tight. Team Japan, team Germany in the mix. Team France, team Sweden fighting to be the same. Remember, it's how your men's and women's teams combined. One of your teams, the women's team, is much stronger than the men's or the other way around. It's going to be a tough fight. Right down the line, Kim Na-young, not a lot of space here, but is able to play the short side. Crazy action. Every time it comes back, Park Gang-hyun gets low to the ground. And Lin Se-dong almost always has the answer from as far back as can imagine. 100 revolutions per second on that final shot. 119 is the most I've seen so far. I haven't called every single match. But here on table one, from what I've seen, 119, if I remember correctly, was Lin Se-dong down the line. The idea's right here, looking for that forehand flick. Kim Na-young, you can hear the sound of the ball as it's slapped. Meaning a bit flatter, less rotation on it. Speed game is a tough way to beat China. Placement, and it comes back just long. It's a last resort to lob. Kwai-man, you don't see doing it too often. The counter on this one. Kim Na-young, like she got an email yesterday saying, you know where to expect this shot. Perfectly planted. Quick to execute there. Snaps the wrist, counters back. Game number one was 11-5. Multiple game points for the Korean pair. Game number two. Catching up quickly here. Oh, the net to take care of it. Kwai-man with a bit of fortune. And it is three bagel points. Game points to get that 3-0 win as Kwai-man comes into the room ready for action. Excuse me, Wong Man-yu in the background. Extended wide to the forehand, Lin Se-dong. Long push from Kwai-man. Can't get a much better long push deep to that backhand corner. But springs in the quads. Park Gang-hyun gets around it. Saving one game point, two more to go. Beautiful flick, but Lin Se-dong is there. 11-8, it is a 3-0 victory.