Two Koreas form unified team at table tennis world championships

Описание: 세계 탁구 선수권 대회 여자 단체전 남북 단일팀 구성
Let's start with the latest sports diplomacy between the two Koreas.
Last time it was a unified women's ice hockey team at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics,... this time the South and North are coming together to form a formidable team at the table tennis table.
Lee Seung-jae starts us off.
At the 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships taking place in Halmstad, Sweden,... South and North Korea turned what would've been a quarterfinals match up against each other into a unified team that's heading to the semifinals together.
The decision to form a joint-Korean team was a three-way agreement between the leaders of the South and North Korean table tennis teams and the International Table Tennis Federation.
And the players from both sides are delighted to be a part of the unified team.

"I thought the joint team was only a part of history. It's a great honor to be part of a new unified team which will make history as well."

"I wondered if we could form a joint team and whether I could join, but I feel really proud now it has become reality. I want to do well and I feel really good. I've made up my mind to keep up the good work."

The joint squad will be called 'Korea',... and will face off against Japan on Friday.
Japanese player Mima Ito was quoted as saying that a unified Korea would not necessarily pose a greater challenge to them in the last four,... and they will just play their own game.
The joint table tennis team will be the first since the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Japan,... when the unified women's team, led by South Korean Olympic Champion Hyun Jung-hwa and North Korea star Li Bun-hui won the gold medal.
Meanwhile the Seoul-based Korean Table Tennis Association has also proposed a unified Korean team at this year's Asian Games in Jakarta,... which is pending approval from the International Table Tennis Federation.
The KTTA said it would like to see both Koreas retain their allotted roster spots- two players for each the men's and women's singles,... two teams each in the mixed doubles and five players in the team event, even if they combine their teams.
Talks for joint Korean teams at the Asian Games gained momentum last week following the inter-Korean summit.
During the summit, the leaders "agreed to demonstrate their collective wisdom, talents and solidarity by jointly participating in international sports events, such as the 2018 Asian Games."
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.

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