10/11/2018
Mixed Doubles pairing, JANG Woojin (KOR) and CHA Hyo Sim (PRK), are through to the 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Incheon.
2018 will surely go down as a landmark year for relations between North and South Korea.
Two summits between their political leaders in April and September concluded with them committing to an ‘era of no war’, as historic divisions between the two nations begin to fade away – no faster than on the table tennis courts.
Now both countries will be represented in the same Mixed Doubles pairing at the sport’s showpiece World Tour Grand Finals in Korea this December. Table tennis’ potential to unite on the world stage has never been greater.
THE START OF SOMETHING SPECIAL
The Peninsula initially raised attentions in the sporting world by launching a Unified Korea team at the 2018 World Table Tennis Championships, formed of players from both sides of the border.
That marked just the start of the Ping Pong Diplomacy initiative, led and funded by the ITTF Foundation, as North and South Korea joined forces again at July’s Korea Open, where JANG Woojin (KOR) and CHA Hyo Sim (PRK) claimed the Mixed Doubles title in front of a proud home crowd in Daejeon.
STRENGTH, UNITY AND INSPIRATION
That pride continues to shine throughout this year’s ITTF World Tour, with confirmation arriving on Friday that there will be a unified Korean presence this December at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in the Korean city of Incheon, after JANG Woojin and CHA Hyo Sim qualified by virtue of reaching the Austrian Open semi-finals in Linz.
"Having a unified North & South Korean unified pair at ITTF World Tour Grand Final means a lot to us," declared Ryu Seungmin, Member of the IOC Athletes Commission and former Korean table tennis star who claimed gold at the 2004 Olympics.
"This achievement represents a very significant source of inspiration both for Koreans and all around the globe. I strongly believe that the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals will be another big opportunity for us to step forward in promoting peace and harmony to the world."
EXCEEDING THE LIMITS OF SPORT
"The ITTF Foundation is very proud of the Unified Korean team. The players are the visible part of a process that exceeds the limits of table tennis and the limits of sport," declared ITTF President, Thomas Weikert.
"We thank Sports Master for the support of the "One Korea – One Table" project, we congratulate the Unified Korean Team for their excellent results in the Seamaster 2018 World Tours, and we hope that the message of peace and unity reaches the worldwide population. Sport is a powerful tool to promote positive social changes. It is up to everyone to live them day by day!"
Make no mistake about it: Ping Pong Diplomacy is in full swing on the Korean Peninsula. Long may its momentum continue.
Share
Tweet
Forward
Media Contact
High resolution photos will be available on request. For more information and photos, please contact: media@ittf.com
For any other questions or queries, please contact ITTF Promotions Manager Caifeng Yang & ITTF Content Manager James Francis.
Notes to the Editor
About International Table Tennis Federation
The International Table Tennis Federation is responsible for the global sport of table tennis and has 226 affiliated National Associations. Table Tennis is an Olympic Sport, introduced at the 1988 Seoul Olympics Games. Table Tennis is also a Paralympic Sport, introduced at the 1960 Rome Paralympic Games.
Find out more about the International Table Tennis Federation at ITTF.com.
Copyright © 2018 International Table Tennis Federation, All rights reserved.
Marketing & Asia Pacific Office, 301 Lor 6 Toa Payoh #01-01, Singapore 319392
Please make sure you add media@ittf.com to your Spam Filter's Safe List so our emails can reach you.
This email was sent to sheila@aroundtherings.com
why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences
International Table Tennis Federation · 301 Lor 6 Toa Payoh #01-01 · Singapore 319392 · Singapore
@mention a user or group to share this mail.
Unified Korea doing the Peninsula proud
25 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
