Koreas Want More Joint Teams

(ATR) In the middle of talk from the leaders of South Korea and North Korea for a joint bid for the Olympics, both nations are actively involved in arranging joint participation in important international tournaments.

Both countries are looking to form joint teams in table tennis and swimming at the Asian Para Games next month, and both have finalized their roster for a joint judo team in the mixed team event at the World Judo Championships.

"We're planning to have a joint Korean teams in table tennis and swimming at Asian Para Games" said Korea Paralympic Commitee chief Myung-ho Lee. "We've discussed this issue with North Korea. It will be finalized once the Asian Paralympic Committee decides on entries," he says.

According Yonhap , Lee says that the Koreas also agreed to have a joint parade at the opening ceremony of the 3rd Asian Para Games in Jakarta, which will be held from Oct. 8 to 16. The two sides are also seeking to run Team Korea House together.

The two Koreas have yet to compete together in a multisport event for the disabled. The two sides previously planned to have a joint parade at the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympic Games but couldn't reach the agreement.

South and North Korea had joint teams in women's basketball, rowing and canoeing at the 2018 Asian Gamesin Indonesia. The two sent a joint women's ice hockey team at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

For table tennis, the two Koreas are planning to compete together in the doubles and team events.

For swimming, the two sides are considering competing in the mixed medley relay. The swimmers from the North have yet to be unveiled.

However, in order to form joint teams, North Korean athletes first must be classified based on their physical abilities. For instance in table tennis, Kim has no arms, while Pak has poliomyelitis. If they get a different disabled class from South Koreans, forming a joint team may be difficult,

South Korea will send a delegation composed of 313 members in 17 disciplines to the Asian Para Games in Jakarta that will be held between Oct. 6 to 13.

Regarding the World Judo Championship, in Bakú, Azerbaijan, the Korea Judo Association said coaches from the two Koreas reached an agreement on the roster for the mixed team event.

The roster includes 13 South Korean judokas, including 2018 Asian Games gold medalist Dong-han Gwak.North Korea will send three.

The mixed team event will be held on Sept. 27, the last day of the world championships. The unified team from the Koreas will use the unification flag that depicts the Korean Peninsula.

Both nations will send separate teams for the men's and women's competitions at the world championships that started on Thursday.

Reported byMiguel Hernandez

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