Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
| South Korean table tennis players arrive at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday, after the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Sweden. They are now preparing to participate in an event in North Korea next month. / Yonhap |
South Korea is preparing to participate in a table tennis event in North Korea next month, the sport's national governing body in Seoul said Thursday.
The Korea Table Tennis Association (KTTA) said it will soon submit entries to take part in the Pyongyang Open tournament in the North Korean capital for the first time from June 13 to 17.
"After talking with the unification ministry this week, we will submit entries for the Pyongyang Open," said Park Chang-ik, a KTTA executive. "Through the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), we've asked North Korea to send an invitation letter to us."
The deadline for the submission of entries for the Pyongyang Open is Monday. The KTTA plans to send 10 players who are also set to compete at this year's Asian Games in Indonesia.
"Any ITTF member can submit its entries freely, but considering the relationship between South Korea and North Korea, we want to discuss it with the government before we send the list," Park said.
South Korea and North Korea formed a joint women's table tennis team last week at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad, Sweden. It was the first time in 27 years that the two sides competed under one flag in an international competition.
The Koreas were set to square off in the quarterfinals, but they decided to join forces only hours before their showdown. They advanced to the semifinals as one team but lost to Japan to take the bronze.
"During the world championships, we expressed our interest in competing at the Pyongyang Open to North Korean table tennis body president Ju Jong-chol, and he also responded positively by saying, 'Let's meet in Pyongyang,'" Park said. "If the North sends an invitation for the Pyongyang Open, we'll get approval from the unification ministry and compete at the event."
The KTTF said it will also submit its proposals to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee on forming a joint Korean team at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games this summer.
The KTTF wants to ensure both Koreas will retain their allotted roster spots -- two players each in 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 squads.
At the world championships, all five South Koreans and four North Korean female table tennis players were allowed to stay on the roster, and all nine players received bronze medals.
