Joo Sae-hyuk

History Joo Sae-hyuk was born in Seoul, South Korea on January 20, 1980. He stands 180 cm tall, and weighs 68 kg. He first started competing when he was 8 years old. He joined the national team in 2001, and fans began taking an interest in him for his dynamic defensive style.

Between April and May 2012, Joo was diagnosed with Behçet's disease, Although Behcet's disease is known to be incurable, it appears that Joo is still performing well. On the medical side, he relies on glucocorticoids to manage his disease.

Joo retired in 2022 and was appointed the coach of the Korean men's national table tennis team.

Style of Play Joo has helped revive the popularity of the defensive style at the professional level. He is one of the few top-ranked players in the world (position 5 in 2012) to play a primarily defensive style, repeatedly returning the ball with heavy backspin on both wings. This has led many to dub him the best defensive player of all time.

Coaches Yang Ki-ho - Personal Coach Yoo Nam-kyu - National Coach Kim Taek-soo - National Coach