Korean table tennis star joins int’l hall of fame

DOHA (Yonhap) -- Korean table tennis great Hyun Jung-hwa belatedly learned of her induction into the International Table Tennis Hall of Fame here on Tuesday.

Hyun, a former Olympic gold medalist and world champion, received her hall of fame plaque from Adham Sharara, president of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), about a year after she qualified for inclusion in the hall.

The ceremony took place on the sidelines of the inaugural Peace and Sport Cup exhibition event, which invited historical rivals, including South Korea and North Korea, to form doubles teams. Hyun served as a coach for the unified Korean delegation for the event.

"I am grateful for this great honor," Hyun said. "This is especially significant because I won it for playing table tennis."

The hall of fame was established in 1993 and the inductee must have won at least five gold medals at the Olympics and world championships. Hyun has won the following titles over her career: the 1987 world championship in women's doubles; the 1988 Olympic gold in women's doubles; the 1989 world championship in mixed doubles; the 1991 world crown in the women's team event; and the 1993 women's singles world championship.

The hall normally reviews eligibility every two years but Hyun was among 11 inductees in 2010, in the first group of entrants in five years.

The ITTF held an induction ceremony and banquet at the China Open tournament in August this year with only eight Chinese inductees on hand, however, while Hyun, Kazuko Ito-Yamaizumi of Japan and Gertrude Pritzi of Austria were absent. An official at the Korea Table Tennis Association said the ITTF hadn't notified the South Korean governing body of Hyun's inclusion until Tuesday.

"We were only told today to come and receive the commemorative plaque," the official said. "That's how we found out about Hyun's induction."