South and North Korean joint team to continue making history in table tennis
- 6 years ago
The joint team for table tennis has a long history starting from the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships.
The 2018 Korea Open is the third time that the two Koreas have formed a joint team.
And the joint team has been very successful in previous outings.
Hong Yoo with the details. Nervous but smiling,... the North Korean table tennis players landed in South Korea on Monday.
They are taking part in the 2018 International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Platinum Korea Open which starts today. And in that tournament, South and North Korea will participate as a joint team.
This is the third time that the South and North Korean players have played on the same side of the table since 1991... but it is the second time this year after the 2018 World Table Tennis Championships.
Table tennis was the first sport that the two Koreas formed a joint team in.
And in their first tournament, the World Table Tennis Championships in 1991, the joint team stunned the Korean Peninsula by winning a gold medal in the women's team event against the favorites China.
North Korean Li Bun-hui and South Korean Hyun Jung-hwa had only met before on opposite sides of the table, but their teamwork made such a result possible.
The friendship that Li and Hyun had developed later became the theme of the movie, "As One".
Hyun, now the coach of the joint team, said in an interview with Yonhap that she is looking forward to meeting with Li again in the near future.
But this time the attention will be focused on Seo Hyo-won from South and Kim Song-i from North, who are participating in the women's team event.
It is their first time playing in a team event, but South and North recently played as a joint team in the World Table Tennis Championships in May.
The joint team won third place in that tournament and Coach Hyun hopes that this team "plays well in this tournament just like they did in the previous ones so they can make many Koreans happy".
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.
The 2018 Korea Open is the third time that the two Koreas have formed a joint team.
And the joint team has been very successful in previous outings.
Hong Yoo with the details. Nervous but smiling,... the North Korean table tennis players landed in South Korea on Monday.
They are taking part in the 2018 International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Platinum Korea Open which starts today. And in that tournament, South and North Korea will participate as a joint team.
This is the third time that the South and North Korean players have played on the same side of the table since 1991... but it is the second time this year after the 2018 World Table Tennis Championships.
Table tennis was the first sport that the two Koreas formed a joint team in.
And in their first tournament, the World Table Tennis Championships in 1991, the joint team stunned the Korean Peninsula by winning a gold medal in the women's team event against the favorites China.
North Korean Li Bun-hui and South Korean Hyun Jung-hwa had only met before on opposite sides of the table, but their teamwork made such a result possible.
The friendship that Li and Hyun had developed later became the theme of the movie, "As One".
Hyun, now the coach of the joint team, said in an interview with Yonhap that she is looking forward to meeting with Li again in the near future.
But this time the attention will be focused on Seo Hyo-won from South and Kim Song-i from North, who are participating in the women's team event.
It is their first time playing in a team event, but South and North recently played as a joint team in the World Table Tennis Championships in May.
The joint team won third place in that tournament and Coach Hyun hopes that this team "plays well in this tournament just like they did in the previous ones so they can make many Koreans happy".
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.