The 14th Korea-China-Japan Blind Tennis Championships, organized by Woosuk University and hosted by the Korea Blind Tennis Association, was won by the Japan Blind Tennis Association.
From the 27th, the event, held over two days at the Woosuk University Jeonju campus gymnasium, included 300 participants from Woosuk University, Jeonbuk School for the Blind, Jeonbuk Branch of the Korean Association of Massage Therapists, and Chungju Sacred Heart School, as well as players, coaches, and volunteers from the Japan, Singapore, and Canada Blind Tennis Associations, and proceedings were divided by visual classification into B1, B2, B3, and B4 (men's and women's singles).
In the men's and women's institutional sector B1, players Song Young-jo (Jeonbuk School for the Blind) and Emily Seok-bi Lee (Soundball Singapore) won, while in the B2 institutional sector, Otsu Fumiyuki (Japan Blind Tennis Association) and Fujimoto Yuuya (Japan Blind Tennis Association) also claimed victory. Following this, in the men's and women's B3 institutional sector, players Choi Jae-kyu (Chungju Sacred Heart School) and Suwa Harumi (Japan Blind Tennis Association) triumphed, and in the men's B4 institutional sector, player Kim Young-wook (Jeonbuk Branch of the Korean Association of Massage Therapists) reached the top.
The overall victory went to the Japan Blind Tennis Association, and five individuals, including Park Dam (Jeonbuk School for the Blind), received the fair play award. Consolation awards were given to Park Yeon (Jeonbuk Branch of the Korean Association of Massage Therapists) and seven others.
Blind tennis began with the development of a special ball that makes noise by Japanese blind individual Takei Miyoshi and is now spreading to over 20 countries, including Korea, the United States, China, and Japan. In Korea, the Blind Tennis Association was established in 2009, mainly led by senior tennis enthusiasts and principals of schools for the blind, and since 2010, a tennis tournament organized by the association has been held annually at Woosuk University.
At the opening ceremony on the first day of the tournament, various local and sports officials attended, including Ra Jong-il, president of the Korea Blind Tennis Association; Yoo Hee-tae, head of Wanju County; Shim Jae-kwang, head of the student employment office at Woosuk University; Lee Jeong-o, chairman of the New Hope Foundation; Kim Deok-yeon, president of the Wanju County Disabled Persons' Association; Kim Cheol-yong, chairman of the Wanju County Blind Association; Jeong Wan-cheol and Park Chun-seong, vice presidents of the Wanju County Disabled Sports Association; Jo Hyun-chun, head of the Jeonbuk Branch of the Korean Association of Massage Therapists; Jeong Moon-soo, principal of Jeonbuk School for the Blind; Jang Eun-joo, principal of Chungju Sacred Heart School; and Lee Seong-jin, pastor of Dunsan Church.
On this day, a ceremony was held for the 'Baekbong Scholarship,' contributed by Ra Jong-il, president of the Korea Blind Tennis Association, and the 'Park Geum-sook Scholarship,' provided by Chinese entrepreneur Park Geum-sook, to support the education of disabled individuals and foreign students.
Ra Jong-il said, "Watching the players boldly challenge themselves on the court, overcoming the limits posed by visual impairment, I felt what true courage and emotion are. I hope this tournament serves as a message of hope to more people."
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