People’s Athlete Kim Yun Mi, coach of the Hwaeppul Sports Club, added glory to the country by winning many international competitions, including the 14th Asian Games and the world table tennis championships during her career as table-tennis player. In her twenties she was awarded the titles of Merited Athlete and People's Athlete before becoming a table-tennis coach. Whenever her colleagues refer to her as successful athlete, she looks back with deep emotion on her past. Born into an ordinary office worker's family in Hamhung, she began to learn to play table tennis in her days at Songnam Primary School of Songchongang District. She was regarded as promising table-tennis player because of her agility, quick reaction and high ball control skills in her childhood. Later she acted as player at the Paengmasan Sports Club. Then she was selected as member of the national team and distinguished herself by taking the first place in the women’s singles of table tennis at the national championships held in 1997. She made her international debut at the 45th world table tennis championships held in 2000, enriching her competing experience. She then won a gold medal at the UK Open table tennis championship in 2001. The table-tennis event of the 14th Asian Games held in 2002 served as an opportunity for her to fully display her unusual forte. At that time, her team's final game with the Chinese was quite fierce. “Yun Mi took part in the match as a third player with the score at 1 to 1. She greatly contributed to her team's win by having the initiative steadily in the match with her forte--returning even a shortly cut ball with backhand attack before hitting a forehand,” said Jon Pong Su, the then coach of the team. While working as a table tennis coach, she proved through practice that a player's feats and honour do not constitute a criterion for measuring the qualification of a coach. She devoted all her talent and energy to selecting and training reserve players for the national team. Choe Hyon Ha and Kim Kum Yong trained by her won the team event of table tennis and took the first and second places in the singles respectively at the 2016 Youth Championships. Kim Kum Yong won a gold medal at the 2019 Asian youth table tennis championships and world youth table tennis championships. Victory of yesterday does not lead to that of today, so train and think steadily--Kim Yun Mi always makes such exact demands on her players. Officials of the sports club say she is a competent table-tennis coach without a moment's standstill. THE PYONGYANG TIMES 
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