By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Dang Ye-seo burst into tears with her teammates Sunday after winning the bronze medal in the women’s team table tennis in the Beijing Summer Olympics. It was a dream come true for the former Chinese national player, as she became the first naturalized Korean to win an Olympic medal.
South Korea beat Japan 3-0 to earn the bronze, dropping only two games in the process.
Dang, 27, beat Sayaka Hirano and her teammate Kim Kyung-ah defeated Ai Fukuhara. Kim and Park Mi-young triumphed over Hirano and Haruna Fukuoka in the third doubles match.
Right after the game, Dang hugged team coach Hyun Chung-hwa and her colleagues and shed tears. ``It was very regretful for our team to lose to Singapore. But I am so happy to win a medal. I will show my best in the individual competition because I have no burden now,’’ Dang said.
The China-born player began playing table tennis at age six and eventually made the Chinese national team. Because of so many outstanding Chinese players, however, she failed to make the Olympics. Zaozmin, a former Chinese citizen who married Korean table tennis star Ahn Jae-hyung, advised Dang to gain Korean citizenship if she wanted to play in the Olympics.
Dang decided to come to Korea in 2000. She started off as a training player for Korean Air’s pro team and had to live in the country for five years before taking her naturalization test. She gained Korean nationality last year.
Dang married a Chinese man working in Shanghai in 2006, but could not live with him because of her training. She was finally named in the Korean Olympic team early this year.