DAEJEON -- A unified Korean mixed doubles team will take on a South Korean tandem at an international table tennis competition here this week.
Choe Il (North Korea) and Yoo Eun-chong (South Korea) will play the third-seeded South Korean duo of Lee Sang-su and Jeon Ji-hee in Thursday's round of 16 match at the International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Platinum Korea Open in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.
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(Yonhap) |
Choe and Yoo defeated Alvaro Robles and Galia Dvorak of Spain 3-2 (8-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11) in a qualification match Tuesday. But they will face an uphill battle against Lee-Jeon, considered the top South Korean pair that has a chance to contend for gold at the Asian Games in August.
The Choe-Yoo team is one of four joint Korean pairs competing at the Korea Open.
Also in the round of 16, another unified mixed doubles team, Jang Woo-jin (South Korea) and Cha Hyo-sim (North Korea), will take on the second-seeded team from Hong Kong, Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem.
Jang and Cha booked a spot in the round of 16 after their Mongolian opponents, Battumur Baatar and Delgermaa Mergen, withdrew from their qualification match Tuesday.
The Koreas have a unified team each in the men's and women's doubles, whose round of 16 action will also begin Thursday.
On the men's side, the fifth seed Lee Sang-su (South) and Pak Sin-hyok (North) have teamed up. Suh Hyo-won (South) and Kim Song-i (North) will play together in the women's event.
The tournament runs through Sunday. (Yonhap)