Cha Hyo-sim of North Korea (left) and Jang Woo-jin of South Korea pose with the champions' trophy after winning the gold medal in the mixed doubles at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Korea Open, at the Chungmu Sports Arena in Daejeon on July 21. (Yonhap)
By Kim Min-Jeung
President Moon Jae-in sent a warm congratulatory message to the unified Korea team for winning the mixed doubles gold medal at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Korea Open.
President Moon released a statement on Cheong Wa Dae's social media profile on July 22 saying, “Athletes Jang Woo-jin and Cha Hyo-sim of the unified Korea team won a shining gold medal, helping us to beat the heat with their exciting news of victory.”
“I give them a grand round of applause for their outstanding performance,” he said.
President Moon said that seeing North and South Korean athletes cooperating with one another as a team and overcoming obstacles together, showed how much more powerful the North and South could be if they were to work as one. He also said that “a peaceful walk” is continuing through sports ever since the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
South Korean Jang Woo-jin teamed up with North Korean Cha Hyo-sim to defeat China’s duo 3-1, winning the pingpong title in the mixed doubles final at the ITTF World Tour Platinum Korea Open in the Chungmu Sports Arena in Daejeon.
President Moon also wrote online that, “A small table tennis ball helped unify the North and South,” and that he hopes that the unified Korea team will also put on a great performance at the upcoming Asian Games to be held in Indonesia in August.
jer2co@korea.kr
