<div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col"><div class="article-detail-headline"><h1 class="article-detail_title"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(World Today Friday 4 May 2018)</span></h1><h1 class="article-detail_title"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Two Koreas decline to play against each other in table-tennis world championships, form unified team instead</span></h1><h1 class="article-detail_title"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><img class="img-fluid bg-red" alt="Paddlers Suh Hyo-won of South Korea and Kim Song-I of North Korea at news conference in Halmstad, Sweden on Thursday (May 3), after deciding to form a unified Korean team for the upcoming semi-finals at the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2018." src="https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.todayonline.com%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fstyles%2Fnew_app_article_detail%2Fpublic%2Fphotos%2F43_images%2F2018-05-03t101107z_569333919_rc1361902180_rtrmadp_3_table-tennis-world_read-only.jpg%3Fitok%3DA0r3ndvm" lazy="loaded"><strong><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Paddlers Suh Hyo-won of South Korea and Kim Song-I of North Korea at news conference in Halmstad, </span></strong></span></h1><h1 class="article-detail_title"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 9pt;">Sweden on Thursday (May 3), after deciding to form a unified Korean team for the upcoming </span></strong></span></h1><h1 class="article-detail_title"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: 9pt;">semi-finals at the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2018. </span><span style="font-size: 9pt;">REUTERS</span></strong></span></h1></div></div></div></div><div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col"><div class="article-detail-published-social article-detail_byline"><div class="row align-items-center"><div class="col"><div class="article-detail_bytime"><div class="article-detail_bylinepublish"><br></div><div class="article-detail_bylineupdate"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Updated 04 May, 2018</span></div><div class="article-detail_bylineupdate"><br></div><div class="article-detail_bylineupdate"><br></div></div></div><a title="WhatsApp" class="social-link addthis_button_whatsapp at300b" href="https://www.todayonline.com/world/two-koreas-decline-play-against-each-other-table-tennis-world-championships-form-unified-team#" target="_blank"><div class="fa fa-whatsapp" aria-hidden="true"></div></a><div class="atclear"></div></div></div></div></div></div><!----><!----><div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col"><div class="article-detail_body"><p><strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;">HALMSTAD (Sweden)</span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> — The two Koreas will field a combined women's team at the table tennis world championships after the nations decided not to compete against each other in the quarter-finals, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) said on Thursday (May 3).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">North and South Korea asked to field a unified team for the semi-finals of the championships, which will be played against Japan on Friday in Halmstad, Sweden.</span></p><aside class="today-ad-imu ad-imu1 ad-bg col"><div id="div-gpt-ad-outstream"></div></aside><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The last time that a unified Korea team played the world table tennis championships was 1991 in Chiba, Japan, where the women's team shocked defending champions China to win the gold medal.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The decision to form a unified team was a tripartite agreement between the leaders of the North and South Korean Table Tennis teams and the ITTF.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">"I'm happy. It's a bit of a risk of course as this is not 100 per cent according to the rules," ITTF president Thomas Weikert told Reuters after a news conference.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">"But there's no disadvantage to the teams before and we informed all the (other) teams and they agreed... we all feel happy that we have a small sign in the process of the reunion of Korea.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">"We respect the rules, yes we changed them, but we will never do that again, and it's more than a sport, it's more for the peace... I think it's worth it."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Japanese player Mima Ito said a unified Korea would not necessarily pose a greater challenge to them in the last four.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">"It doesn't really matter, we play our own game, we play our own system. We are looking at our own game and not our opponent," she said.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">"The other team has five players, so it's the same. We really concentrate on our game — we will do what we want to do. That's what we plan to do."</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The move follows the North and South Korean leaders' pledge to work for "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean Peninsula last week.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The two Koreas had earlier this year joined forces to field a combined women's ice hockey team at the Pyeongchang Winter Games after they marched together for the opening ceremony. <strong>REUTERS</strong></span><br></p></div></div></div></div><p><br></p>
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