Sports
12:25, 26-Jan-2018
With Olympic boost, can ice hockey go mainstream in ROK?
["china"]
Share
Copied
Members of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) ice hockey squad arrived in the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Thursday to train with their southern counterparts ahead of next month's Winter Olympics. The two sides have agreed to field a joint team in PyeongChang.
The move is seen not only as a gesture of good will towards harmonizing relations between the DPRK and ROK but as an opportunity to grow the sport in the latter country.
Ice hockey is a non-mainstream sport in the ROK. The country only has about 200 registered men's players, five university teams and three professional clubs. For women, conditions are even poorer. Yet with the PyeongChang Winter Olympics just around the corner, ice hockey is garnering a lot of attention.
The head coaches of the ROK women’s ice hockey team (left) and DPRK women’s ice hockey team shake hands. /VCG Photo
The head coaches of the ROK women’s ice hockey team (left) and DPRK women’s ice hockey team shake hands. /VCG Photo
Success on the ice for the unified Korea team would really help boost the sport locally. But that will be difficult – the players have little more than two weeks to train together before their first match.
"We are very happy that North and South can become one and participate as a joint team. In this short time, if we put our strength and minds together and prepare well for the matches, we will have good results," said Pak Chol Ho, coach of the DPRK women’s ice hockey team.