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The world number one was wiped out.

Lim Jong-hoon (World No. 21-Korea Exchange) fell 1-3 (1-11 9-11 11-7 6-11) to Ma Rong (No. 4-China) in the second round (Round of 16) of the men's singles at the Shinhan Bank World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Incheon 2024 on Monday at the Inspire Arena at the Incheon Inspire Entertainment Resort.

Later on the same day, in the men's singles competition, Oh Jun-sung (46th - Mirae Asset Securities) and Jang Woo-jin (12th - Mirae Asset Securities) were also unable to break through the round of 16 barrier and failed to advance to the quarterfinals. In the end, the Korean players in the men's singles round of 16 were wiped out.

The youngest player, Oh Junsung, was the first to play and lost 2-3 (6-11 7-11 11-6 12-10 7-11) to Harimoto Tomokazu (#9-Japan).

After dropping the first set 6-11, Oh was on the brink of losing the second set 7-11. However, he stayed focused and pushed Harimoto hard. After taking the third set 11-6, Oh battled back to win the fourth set 12-10. He was down 0-2 but fought back to level the match at 2-2.

The final five sets were tightly contested. However, it faltered. After conceding consecutive points, Oh missed his serve. The gap between him and Harimoto widened to 4-8, and he eventually lost the fifth set 7-11, ending his hopes of reaching the quarterfinals. Despite the loss, Oh received applause for his fighting spirit in front of his home fans.

Next up, Jang Woo-jin faced Lin Yun-chu (#6 - Chinese Taipei) and lost 1-3 (8-11 17-15 5-11 4-11). Wu-Jin Chang was outclassed by Lin Yun-Ju in the first set. Late in the first set, she was able to get as close as 8 points, but eventually dropped the set 8-11.

The second set was close. Jang Woo-jin continued to stay focused, while Lin Yun-ju fought back with clever plays. The two players were tied 3-3 at the start of the second set, but Lin Yunzhu scored back-to-back points to widen the gap to 3-6. When Jang Woo-jin pulled within two points, Lin Yun-ju called a timeout. It was a timeout to stem the tide, but Jang Woo-jin immediately 메이저사이트 equalized. The next game saw Lin Yunzhu save the first game point, but Jang saved the match with a deuce. Jang then faced two game points, but Lin Yunzhu was not to be denied. After six deuces, Jang won the second set 17-15 to take the match.

However, Jang fell short. After losing the third set 5-11, he lost the fourth set 4-11.

Naturally, Korea's last hope, Lim Jong-hoon, was unable to overcome the barrier of Marong. After the first set, Lim lost the match in straight sets, 1-11. In the second set, he stayed focused and chased down Ma Long, but fell short 9-11.

However, Lim refused to give up. He took a 3-1 lead early in the third set and pushed Ma Long hard. The lead didn't last long. Ma Rong showed his skills again and tied the score at 4-4. This is where Lim stepped up his game. At 9-7, he took the perfect lead. Here, Marong collapsed and gave Lim game point. In the end, Lim took the third set 11-7.

Lim was shaky at the start of the fourth set. He fell behind 2-4 and was down. However, he regained his focus and equalized. From there, it was a close battle. The score was tied at 6-6. At the crucial moment, Ma Long proved his superiority. He skillfully attacked Lim Jong-hoon and took the lead. Lim faltered, and the score became 6-11 and he failed to advance to the quarterfinals.