sports

Jon Ju Hyon is one of the disabled table tennis players.

He began to play table tennis in his primary school days.

According to Ryu Kum Sun, Ju Hyon’s mother, he was clever and studied well and liked to play table tennis very much.

So he started to learn table tennis at the table tennis group of Ansan Primary School in Phyongchon District, Pyongyang. And he frequently said that it was his dream to win gold medals in international competitions.

The table tennis skills of Ju Hyon, who was clever and had a good kinaesthetic sensation, improved gradually and caught the eye of a table tennis coach of the Pyongyang Sports Club.

After finishing middle school, he was selected by the sports club and took the first step as a pro.

His coach was optimistic about the future of Ju Hyon with a gift for playing ping-pong and paid special attention to him.

It seemed as if Ju Hyon’s dream would soon come true and a warm welcome was awaiting him at the door of success.

But he could not fulfil his dream.

Soon after he began his career as a pro, he was injured during training and it grew worse with the passage of time. So he underwent several rounds of surgical operation and consequently his two legs could not be restored to their original state.

“I felt as if I was a bird that could not fly with broken wings. But I could not abandon my hope,” recalled Ju Hyon.

He tried hard to brace himself and regain vigour of life.

One day, members of the Korean Sports Association of the Disabled visited his house. They encouraged Ju Hyon to work hard together to achieve his dream.

Ju Hyon could see the disabled people leading a life full of hope and energy at the association. Thanks to the social climate of taking all legal and public measures to provide the disabled people with every condition for pursuing their dreams to their heart’s content and of sharing joy and sorrow with each other, many people were offering unstinting support for the disabled sportspersons.

Encouraged by this, Ju Hyon immediately joined the players of the association who trained hard to bring honour to the country.

For him, it was a starting point for his new life.

Months and years passed and the time came when Ju Hyon could realize his dream of winning the international competition.

He made his international debut in an international event for the disabled people in 2014 and finished in the top three in the table tennis singles.

With it as a springboard to success he tried harder and finally won gold medals in the international tournaments held in 2019 and 2025.

“Seeing the national flag being hoisted right up there on the winners’ podium, I realized more keenly that my socialist country is the very embrace that has my dream accomplished. I will win many more medals for the country,” said Jon Ju Hyon.