Korean hockey team faces Switzerland in historic debut match

AP

GANGNEUNG, South Korea (AP) — Another historic night mixing sports and Korean politics was on tap at the Winter Olympics.

The women's hockey team, the first to combine players from North Korea and South Korea, was making its Olympic debut against Switzerland on Saturday night, just 24 hours after an extraordinary opening ceremony a few miles away was marked by signs of unity between the two rivals.

Like the ceremony, the sold-out hockey game was expected to include dignitaries from North and South in close proximity. The North's nominal head of state, Kim Yong Nam, and the powerful sister of dictator Kim Jong Un are on a landmark visit to South Korea amid a flurry of abrupt reconciliation steps. The two high-profile North Korean visitors attended the opening ceremony and had a luncheon with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Moon's presidential palace earlier Saturday.

During the lunch, Kim Yong Nam and the sister, Kim Yo Jong, invited Moon to visit Pyongyang in what would be the third inter-Korean summit talks since their 1945 division. Moon and Kim Yong Nam were then expected to head back to Gangneung to watch the hockey game together.

Fielding the joint hockey team was one of the key agreements the Koreas have struck after several rounds of talks at the border on how to cooperate during the Olympics, which run through Feb. 25. Athletes from North and South paraded together during the ceremony in the same white parkas, marching under a single "unification flag" depicting an undivided peninsula to the tune of their shared traditional folk song "Arirang" instead of their respective anthems. It was their first joint march since 2007.

The Korean hockey team is not expected to win a medal; both Koreas are ranked out of the world's top 20. But its debut against Switzerland, which won bronze in the 2014 Olympics, had historic significance and symbolized fledgling unity between the rivals split along the world's most heavily fortified border.

The North initially had no athletes coming to the Olympics, but the International Olympic Committee allowed 22 as special entries. Twelve female hockey players joined the 23-person South Korean team.

The players have been the subject of intense scrutiny and the team was thrown together only two weeks ago, with limited time to practice. Two players, one South Korean and the other North Korean, appeared on the opening ceremony and climbed stairs together with the Olympic torch that they handed to Olympic champion figure skater Yuna Kim.

There was early criticism in South Korea that the new players would throw off team chemistry and cost South players time on the ice after working together for months to shine on the sport's biggest stage. The team's Canadian coach, Sarah Murray, initially expressed frustration over a team assembled so close to the Olympics, but she has recently said she is happy with her new players on a team she says now feels like family.

"They are awesome. I really enjoy having them here," Murray told reporters after Friday's training session. "We are excited for the tournament to get started."

The Koreas often use sports to find a breakthrough in their strained relations. The ongoing rapprochement mood flared after Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's Day address that he was willing to send an Olympic delegation. Moon, a dove who wants to resolve the nuclear standoff diplomatically and peacefully, quickly responded to Kim's outreach by offering talks.

Many experts say Kim's overture is intended to use improved ties with Seoul as a way to weaken U.S.-led international sanctions toughened after its series of big weapons tests last year that include its sixth and largest nuclear test explosion and three intercontinental ballistic missile launches. Warming ties between the Koreas could complicate Seoul's ties with Washington, which wants to maximize its pressures on Pyongyang.

___

More AP Olympics: https://wintergames.ap.org

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read Again https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2018/02/10/korean-hockey-team-faces-switzerland-in-historic-debut-match/110288456/

Bagikan Berita Ini