"The waiting," sang the great Tom Petty in the song of the same name, "is the hardest part." This week at the 2021 ITTF-ATTU Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar, two teams shed 72 years of combined frustration in swift succession. Yesterday, the top-seeded Republic of Korea (aka South Korea) men's team overcame #3 Chinese Taipei (aka Taiwan) in the final, 3-1. The championship was the first at the Asian Championships for the South Korean men's team since 1996, a refreshing rain after a quarter-century drought. Not to be outdone in the long-suffering sweepstakes, the Japanese women's team (pictured) had toiled fruitlessly at the endeavor since 1974. Thursday, the #1-seeded Japan team overcame #6 South Korea for the title, 3-0, an anticlimactically efficient end to 47 years of futility. While the winning teams certainly merit all due praise, it would be irresponsible to gloss over the elephant in the room, or rather the panda not in the room. China, winners of all seven medals at the last Asian Games in 2019, elected to stay safe at home and prepare for the World Championships in November. Thus, a less charitable commentator could suggest that the titles ring hollow, neglecting the fact that they still conquered a continental contingent of challengers. Nonetheless, the waiting game is finally over.

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