Insook Bhushan (born Na In-Sook; February 17, 1952) is a South Korea-born American table tennis player. She was a member of the South Korean women's team that won the bronze medal at the 1971 World Championships. At the 1973 World Championships, she was limited to the role of "non-playing captain" of the gold medal-winning South Korean women's team. In 1974, she emigrated to the United States, where her father had established an import-export business.[1] The following year, she married the architect Shekhar Bhushan and in 1980 became a US citizen.[2]

Insook Bhushan
Full nameInsook Bhushan
Nationality United States
Born (1952-02-17) February 17, 1952 (age 72)
Seoul, South Korea
Table tennis career
Playing styleShakehand, defensive
Medal record
Women's table tennis
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Singles
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Doubles
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 1983 Caracas Team
Gold medal – first place 1987 Indianapolis Singles
Gold medal – first place 1987 Indianapolis Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 1987 Indianapolis Team
Gold medal – first place 1991 Havana Singles
Gold medal – first place 1991 Havana Team
Silver medal – second place 1991 Havana Doubles
Insook Na Bhushan
Hangul
나인숙
Hanja
Revised RomanizationNa In-suk
McCune–ReischauerNa In-suk

Between 1976 and 1991, Bhushan dominated the US National Championships, winning the title in women's singles 11 times, women's doubles 11 times, and mixed doubles 8 times.[3] In 1977, she won the women's singles title at the US Open.[4]

Bhushan returned to her birthplace for the 1988 Olympics, where she competed in women's singles and women's doubles.[5] She also competed in women's singles at the 1992 Olympics and represented the United States in 6 World Championships. She participated in 3 Pan American Games, winning 8 gold medals (including 3 consecutive gold medals in women's singles) and 1 silver medal.

Bhushan retired from competition after the 1992 Olympics and was inducted into the USATT Hall of Fame in 1993.[6]

Bhushan has a degree in accounting from the University of Colorado Denver[7] and works as an accountant in the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.[8] She has two sons, Austin (born in 1980) and Kevin (born in 1985).

References

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  1. ^ Myslenski, Skip "Journey To Seoul Has Special Meaning For This Athlete", Chicago Tribune, June 13, 1988
  2. ^ Hummer, Steve "An Asian Divided: American Table Tennis Player Was Born In Korea, But She Doesn`t See It Like A Native", SunSentinel, September 21, 1988
  3. ^ "US National Champions". Archived from the original on January 4, 2014.
  4. ^ "US Open Champions". Archived from the original on January 21, 2014.
  5. ^ Vecsey, George "America's Best in Table Tennis Goes Home Again", New York Times, September 26, 1988
  6. ^ "USATT Hall of Fame Profile". Archived from the original on December 23, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  7. ^ Rognstad, Aaron "Former US table tennis national champion paddles numbers" Archived 2014-02-04 at the Wayback Machine, Colorado National Guard Public Affairs, April 8, 2010
  8. ^ "Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Staff Directory". Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.

Other sources

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