Paris – France, May 17, 2013: Their countries may not always see eye to eye, but today at the LIEBHERR 2013 World Table Tennis Championships in Paris, France, the sport of Table Tennis brought DPR Korea and Korea Republic together in total harmony.
Both countries left the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy with one victory each. The women’s doubles pair from Korea Republic PARK/YANG overcame the pair from DPR Korea RI/RI in the 3rd round.
Then in the Mixed Doubles, the North Korea pair of KIM/KIM leveled the score by beating their Korea Republic counterparts CHO/YANG to reach the mixed doubles semi-final.
ITTF’s President Adham Sharara stated: “It is heart warming to see players from DPR Korea and Korea Republic competing against each other with full respect at the World Championships. I still remember in November 2011 when players from both countries played side by side in the “Peace Cup” in Doha. I am very proud that the ITTF is a positive catalyst to bring nations closer together”.
Breaking the barriers between the two Korean nations is not a new thing for table tennis, as it worked so successfully in the Peace and Sport Cup in 2011 where RYU Seungmin (KOR) and KIM Hyok Bong (PRK) won the championships, which brought the two table tennis associations close together.
These matches did not only show the value of sport to bring peace, but also earned North Korea a place in the Mixed Doubles Semi-Finals and South Korea a sport in the Women’s Doubles Quarter-Finals at the 52nd World Championships. —- Photo by Remy Gros/ITTF
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