Shin Yu-bin advanced to the semifinals of the women's singles table tennis tournament at the Paris Olympics on Thursday, moving within a win of grabbing her second medal in the French capital. Shin, world No. 8, edged out 13th-ranked Miu Hirano of Japan 4-3 (11-4, 11-7, 11-5, 7-11, 8-11, 9-11, 13-11) in the quarterfinals at South Paris Arena 4 in Paris. Shin, who won the mixed doubles bronze medal on Tuesday, will next play world No. 4 from China, Chen Meng, in the semifinals on Friday. South Korea has not claimed a medal in the women's singles since Kim Kyung-ah's bronze in 2004. Shin appeared to be in complete control against Hirano, winning the first three games with relative ease. Shin won seven consecutive points to jump out to a 7-1 lead in the opening game en route to an 11-4 win. Hirano held a 4-2 lead early in the second game but Shin promptly won five straight points to go up 7-4. She never trailed again as she took the second game 11-7. Hirano still didn't seem to have any answers against Shi n in the third game. And after dropping that frame 11-5, Hirano took a break to change her shirt. She then went out and won the fourth game 11-7 and extended the match further by winning the fifth game 11-8. The pendulum was completely on Hirano's side after the Japanese won the sixth game 11-9, with Shin struggling with her backhand. In the deciding game, Shin staved off a match point down 10-9. Shin then went up 12-11 when Hirano sent her return long, and closed out the 80-minute duel by forcing Hirano to hit a shot into the net. The thriller left both players in tears afterward. Earlier Thursday, Jang Woo-jin was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the men's singles. Jang, world No. 13, lost to sixth-ranked Brazilian Hugo Calderano 4-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6) at South Paris Arena in Paris. Jang had also lost to Calderano in the round of 16 at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. He has beaten Calderano just once in six meetings so far. South Korea has not won a medal in the men's singles since Ryu Seung-min ca ptured the gold medal in 2004. Jang had no answer to Calderano's strong backhand from early on, dropping the first game in just five minutes. Down 7-4 in the second game, Jang pulled into a tie with three straight points, only to see Calderano win the next four points to win the game and take a 2-0 lead. Calderano turned a 6-4 lead into an 11-5 win in the third game, as Jang continued to miss with his forehand. The Brazilian then won the last four points of the deciding game to book a ticket to the semifinals. Source: Yonhap News Agency