Coach Oh Sang-yun of the Korea Mirae Asset Securities Club and former coach of the Korean women's table tennis team Shi Eun-mi will serve as the head coaches of the Korean men's and women's national table tennis teams, respectively, and the two will command the national team before the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi Nagoya.

Oh Sang-yun (left) and Seok Eun-mi, who were selected as the head coaches of the Korean table tennis men's and women's national teams

The Korean Table Tennis Association said on the 21st that after a meeting of the Athletic Ability Improvement Committee, Coach Oh Sang-yun and Coach Seok Eun-mi were appointed as the head coaches of the men's and women's teams, respectively.

The new head coach of 47, Wu Shangyin, and Shi Eun-mei, 48, are at the helm of the national team through an open recruitment process. The two coaches will serve until December 31, the year the 2026 Aichi Nagoya Asian Games will be held, and a head coach declaration ceremony will be held at the World Table Tennis Championships (individual events) in Doha, Qatar from May 17 to 25 this year. After the end of the contract, the contract can be extended if the results are recognized through the evaluation.

Wu Shangyin during the player's period

Oh Sang-yun, the new head coach of the Korean table tennis men's team, is a powerful player who won the most men's singles championships in history at the most prestigious multi-team tournament in South Korea during his time as a player. Wu Shangyin also won the bronze medal in the men's singles at the 2005 World Table Tennis Championships in Shanghai and the silver medal in the men's team competition at the 2012 London Olympics.

Oh Sang-yun used to be the head coach of Mirae Asset Securities, but in order to challenge for the position of head coach of the Korean national team, he participated in the open recruitment of head coaches and realized his dream of being a solo candidate.

Coach Seok Eun-mi commanding the Korean team at the 2024 Table Tennis Mixed Team World Cup (left)

The head coach of the Korean table tennis national team is not allowed to work part-time, so Oh Sang-yun will resign as the head coach of Mirae Asset Securities.

The new head coach of the women's team, Shi Eun-mi, is a star player who won the women's doubles gold medal with Lee Eun-sil at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. At the Mixed Team World Cup held last November, Shi Eun-mi served as a co-coach in a coaching vacancy and led South Korea to two consecutive World Cup silver medals after China.

Yoo Nam-kyu, Chairman of the Korean Table Tennis Association's Athletic Ability Improvement Committee, said, "I hope that the two coaches will play a role in strengthening the national team's combat effectiveness in international competitions such as the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games next year, so that Korean table tennis can achieve good results." ”