South Korea's veteran paddler Kim Kyung Ah back in international action

Athens Olympics bronze medalist Kim Kyung Ah came out of retirement and helped the South Korean women's table tennis team ease past their counterparts of DPR Korea here on Sunday to secure a medal at the Asian championships.

The 40-year-old chopper was the only one from her team winning without giving up a set, beating Ri Mi Gyong 11-8, 13-11, 11-9 to wrap up a 3-0 victory for South Korea, the former world and Olympic third-placed women's team.

Her teammate Yang Hae Un beat Kim Song I 3-1 earlier, and Suh Hyo Won rallied past Cha Hyo Sim 3-2 in quarterfinals of the continental tournament's team event.

"I wasn't nervous," said Kim, now a mother to a five-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl. "I missed playing table tennis and I'm just happy to be playing once again."

Yet to earn a position on the ITTF world rankings after striking her way back through national trials last month, Kim had hung up her racket in 2012 following the London Games where South Korea finished the fourth.

She'd come out shortly in late 2015 but found there no chance to the 2016 world team championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The classic defender then made her second comeback early this year and managed to seal a regular place in the team, which had no medals at either the 2016 world team championships or the Rio Olympic Games.

Kim once said her eyes set on Tokyo 2020, that's her motivation to come back in competitive sport. A fact she cannot deny, however, is that she'll turn 43 years old by then. Endit