<Anchor> An



impressive table tennis rally continued on the first day of the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Korean player Park Hong-gyu, who became handicapped due to an industrial accident, won his first victory over Egypt's Hamadtu, an armless table tennis star.



By Kim Hyung-yeol, staff reporter.



<Reporter>



Park Hong-gyu, who was paralyzed in both upper and lower body parts of his right upper and lower body due to an unexpected fall, refused to use a wheelchair and stood up, using his left leg as an axis and vigorously swinging the racquet with his left hand.



Hamadtu from Egypt, who lost both arms in a train accident when he was 10 years old, picked up the ball with his foot while holding a ping-pong club in his mouth to serve, and when he got the chance, he threw a river smash.



Hamadtu's attack with a strong rotation was sharp, but Park Hong-gyu's main specialty, the backhand attack, was top-notch.



Hamadtu's stamina-consuming serve was shaken at the last minute, and in the end, Park Hong-gyu won a 3-0 victory, and applause continued at the impressive rally that showed that there was no impossible regardless of victory or defeat.



[Park Hong-gyu / Paralympic Table Tennis National Team: (by table tennis) I think I would not have been able to stand up until now if I had not been rehabilitated and rode a wheelchair. I will stand up (without getting in a wheelchair) and finish it.]



[Hamadtu/Egypt Paralympic Table Tennis Representative: I really wanted to participate in the Paralympic, the best stage, and I am happy to be here.] My



uncomfortable right hand is wrapped in a racquet with a bandage. The tied Cha Su-yong won a thrilling comeback victory against Japan's Minami.



In the last 5 sets, they were pushed to the edge of the brink 10-7, but with a terrifying back-hearted, they scored 5 points and decorated the Korea-Japan match as a victory.



[Cha



Su-yong

/ Paralympic Table Tennis National Team: 'Heart of Japan' I want to raise the national anthem in the highest place in Tokyo.]

Rio silver medalist Su-yeon Seo also finished the first match with a 3-0 victory and started off fresh.



(Video coverage: Kim Yong-woo, video editing: Woo-jung Woo, CG: Kang Yu-ra)