Shen Yubin, the first sister of Korean table tennis, has three at the 2025 World Table Tennis Championships, what kind of results will she achieve in Doha?

Shin Yubin, the 21-year-old South Korean table tennis sister, will take on a new challenge at the 2025 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in Doha, which has just over two weeks to go. South Korean media said on the 4th that Shin Yubin will take advantage of the momentum of writing the history of Korean table tennis to challenge the milestone again at the World Table Tennis Championships held in Doha, Qatar from the 17th to the 25th of this month.

Shin Yu-bin who competed in the 2025 WTT Incheon Championships

This year's World Table Tennis Championships Shen Yubin will participate in three events: women's singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. She formed a duo with Yoo Han-na in the women's doubles and Lim Jong-hoon in the mixed doubles. Among the players of the Korean men's and women's teams participating in this World Table Tennis Championships, only Shin Yubin, Lim Jong-hoon, Kim Na-young and other 3 people are three-player. In order to achieve their desired goals in various events, players need to arrange their physical fitness within a tight schedule.

Shin Yubin got a report card that could become the signature of the Korean table tennis women's team in the previous major international competitions. She won the silver medal in women's doubles with Tian Zhixi (retired) at the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban in May 2023. This is the first time in 36 years that a Korean player has reached the women's doubles final of the World Table Tennis Championships since Liang Yingzi/Hyun Jinghe, who won the World Table Tennis Championships in New Delhi in 1987, and the performance is very good. Shin Yubin/Tian Ji-hee won the gold medal in the women's doubles final in Hangzhou in September that year, defeating North Korea's Cha so-young/Park so-kyung 4-1 in the women's doubles final. This is the first time in 21 years that a Korean player has won the gold medal in the table tennis event of the Asian Games, following the women's doubles champions Shi Eun-mi/Lee Eun-sil and the men's doubles champions Yoo Seung-min/Lee Cheol-seung at the 2002 Busan Asian Games.

Shin Yubin (right) and Tian Zhixi cheer each other on when participating in the women's doubles match of the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships in Durban

In addition, at the Paris Olympics in August last year, Shin Yubin won the bronze medal in the mixed doubles event of table tennis with Lim Jong-hoon, and also led the team to win the first Olympic bronze medal in 16 years since the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the women's team competition.

South Korean media believe that Shin Yubin is facing a series of new challenges at this year's World Table Tennis Championships in Doha. In the women's singles, she will have to overcome the weakness of not being able to beat China's top players. In the women's doubles, she will want to create the best synergy with her new partner, Hannah Liu. According to the women's singles draw of this World Table Tennis Championships, Shen Yubin, ranked 10th in the world, will meet New Zealand rookie Lisa Gaillard in the first round of singles (round of 128). The problem is that even if he successfully passes the initial pass, Shen Yubin will have to face the world's first sister Sun Yingsha in the round of 16.

At the Paris Olympics, Shin Yubin and Lim Jong-hoon teamed up to win the bronze medal in the mixed doubles event in table tennis

Sun Yingsha defeated teammates Chen Xingtong (ranked third in the world) and Kuo Man (ranked fifth in the world) in succession at the Macau World Cup last month, which is known as the three Grand Slam tournaments with the Olympic Games and the World Table Tennis Championships, to achieve two consecutive World Cup women's singles titles, and is recognized as the strongest in the world. On the contrary, Shen Yubin lost 0-4 to Chen Xingtong in the women's singles round of 16 of the 2025 Macau World Cup, and lost all five matches against Chinese players this year.

In addition, in the women's doubles competition, Tian Zhixi, who was Shin Yubin's "golden partner", withdrew from the Korean national team, and Shin Yubin is experimenting with Yoo Hanna to form a new combination. Fortunately, Shin Yubin won the women's doubles runner-up at the 2025 WTT Star Challenge Chennai with Yoo Hanna.

The world's first sister Sun Yingsha

Shin Yubin/Yoo Hanna's hypothetical opponent in the women's doubles quarterfinals of this World Table Tennis Championships is the world's No. 1 Japanese pair Satsuki Oto/Sakura Yokoi, which will be the biggest hurdle on the way to qualifying. Lim Jong Hoon/Shin Yu Bin won the Mixed Doubles title at the WTT Star Challenge Chennai 2025, but if they make it through to the Mixed Doubles with Lim Jong Hoon, they could meet world No. 2 Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha in the semi-finals.

Shin Yubin finished runner-up in the Women's Doubles at the WTT Stars Challenge 2025 in Chennai with Hanna Yoo (left).

Until then, it is difficult to say whether Lim Jong Hoon/Shin Yu Bin will be able to beat Chinese Taipei's Lin Yun Ru/Zheng Yi Ching, while the other Korean pair Wu Hyun Cheng/Kim Na Ying could face Lin Yun Ru/Zheng Yi Ching ahead of Lim Jong Hoon/Shin Yu Bin. South Korea's women's table tennis team head coach Shi Eun-mi said: "If Wu Hyun-sung/Kim Na-young Neng (after winning the first round) make an appointment with the Chinese Taipei pair, they may also meet Lin Zhongxun/Shin Yu-bin in the future. Shen Yubin will participate in three events in this World Table Tennis Championships, so he must adjust his physical fitness and concentrate on playing every game. ”