By Cho Mu-hyun
Former Olympic gold medalist Hyun Jung-hwa was inducted into the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Hall of Fame Tuesday.
Hyun, 42, now a director of the Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA), received a commemorative plaque for her achievement from ITTF President Adam Sharara during the opening ceremony of the Qatar Peace and Sport Cup in Doha.
The federation awarded those eligible every two years since the Hall of Fame was established in 1993 until 2005. After a five-year hiatus, the honor has been revived. Hyun qualified having won the required five gold medals at Olympic Games and world championships.
Out of over 60 people inducted, she is the first Korean. Although aware she was shortlisted, her entry came as a surprise to both Hyun and the KTTA.
“I am grateful for this huge honor,” Hyun told The Korea Times over the phone. “This is especially significant because I won it for playing table tennis.”
She said that the award means a lot to her and serves as great motivation to work harder for the development of Korean table tennis. “It is a responsibility I must work hard for.”
Of the joint team competing in Doha, comprised of the two Koreas, she said: “This is the second time I am participating in a joint effort, and it seems, as strange as it may sound, quite different from 20 years ago. There is actually more synergy between the two Korean team. There are a lot of North Korean laborers in Qatar, but the game was beyond politics. It was just a good game of sports and I am happy with the results,” she said.
“The best table tennis players have always come from China (they have the highest number in Asia inducted to the Hall of Fame), and to compete with them I think we have three tasks at hand. Next year’s world championships are coming soon, and I think we need to prepare for that. First, we must enlarge the professional table tennis arena for more competition and draw attention to it. Secondly, we must invest in recruiting more players and supporting the talented ones. Finally, we must have a long term plan to promote the game.”
The 42-year-old won a total of seven gold medals: four from the 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993 world championships, one from the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and two from the Asian games in 1986 and 1990. She is also the only Korean to achieve a “Grand Slam,” having won in singles, doubles, mixed-doubles and team events.