Hyun Jung-hwa


Hyun Jung-hwa is a retired female table tennis player from South Korea who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Career

National South Korean table tennis player Hyun Jung-Hwa brought about the golden age of table tennis to Korea. She is one of an elite group of players who have won at least one gold medal in every discipline they were eligible to compete in at the World Table Tennis Championships. Her first gold medal came in the women's doubles at the 1987 World Table Tennis Championships in New Delhi. She followed it up by winning the mixed doubles title with Yoo Nam-Kyu at the 1989 World Table Tennis Championships in Dortmund. During 1988 Seoul Olympics, she led the South Korean team to victory against the unbeatable Chinese team. She was again part of the first ever Unified Korean team that stunned China to win the women's team event at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba. Her final World title was an unexpected win in the women's singles event at the 1993 World Table Tennis Championships in Gothenburg, where she also brought home medals in the mixed doubles and team event, making her the only Korean to achieve a Grand Slam. In 2011, she became the first Korean table tennis player to be inducted into the International Table Tennis Federation's Hall of Fame.

Notable achievements

Film

The story of the Unified Korean team in the 1991 World Championships and its victory over the Chinese in the women's team event is told by the movie As One starring actress Ha Ji-won as Hyun Jung-Hwa.

Television appearances