Jeon Ha-jun of Pohang Jangryang Elementary School, who tied for 3rd place in the U12 men’s individual event at the ‘2026 Gimcheon Open National Youth Table Tennis Tournament’, is taking a commemorative photo. Photo provided by 2026 Gimcheon Open National Youth Table Tennis Championships
Raising regional status by demonstrating outstanding skills in the U12 men’s individual event
Win all preliminaries and advance to semifinals in competition with promising players from all over the country… “Valuable experience, further growth”
At the ‘2026 Gimcheon Open National Youth Table Tennis Tournament’ held at the Gimcheon Badminton Gymnasium from the 29th to the 2nd, Jeon Ha-jun of Pohang Jangryang Elementary School showed off his outstanding skills by tying for 3rd place in the U12 men’s individual event.
This tournament is a large-scale tournament in which a large number of promising youth table tennis players from all over the country participated, and it has added meaning in that it is the first national tournament to open a new season. Despite the fierce competition, Jeon Ha-jun won all of the preliminaries and advanced to the finals at the top of his group, showing off his stable game management and concentration.
In the quarterfinals of the main event, they advanced to the semifinals by overpowering their opponents with a set score of 3-1 with solid defense and bold attack. In the semifinals that followed, he had a close battle with Seodo Elementary School’s Park Ji-hwan, going all the way to the full set, but after a fierce battle that lasted until the end, he unfortunately lost 2-3 and advanced to the finals was postponed until the next opportunity.
Although he did not reach the final stage, Jeon Ha-jun successfully finished the competition by tying for third place with Lee Ji-ho. This is a valuable achievement achieved at a national competition and is evaluated as a result that sufficiently demonstrates the potential for future growth.
After the competition, Jeon Ha-jun said, “I am disappointed that I did not advance to the finals, but I was able to gain good experience by playing many games with players from other schools. I am happy that I achieved good results in the first competition of the year, and I will work hard to show further improvement in the future.”
Meanwhile, coaches and officials expressed their expectations for his future performance, saying, “Through this competition, we were able to see that Jeon Ha-jun’s game management ability and mental strength have grown further.”
PohangㅣJeong Da-won, Sports Donga Reporter localdk@donga.com
Reporter Jeong Da-won
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