Asian Games could have seven joint Korean teams

seoul — Seven South Korean sports associations are considering forming joint teams with North Korea for this year’s Asian Games in Indonesia, an official told AFP on Monday — but reports said football will not be joining them.

At their groundbreaking summit on Friday, the latest step in a rapidly moving diplomatic sequence, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the South’s president Moon Jae-in agreed to show solidarity by “jointly participating in international sports events such as the 2018 Asian Games”.

The phrasing left open whether it was a reference to unified teams, or marching together at opening ceremonies, as they have done at several past Olympics, including this year’s Winter Games in Pyeongchang in the South.

But a spokeswoman for the South’s national Olympic committee told AFP that the country’s governing bodies for “basketball, judo, canoe, gymnastics, table tennis, rowing and soft tennis have expressed interest”.

No details had been discussed yet, she added.

Seoul’s unification ministry declined to comment on the issue but said the two sides will soon hold a working-level meeting which may include discussions on joint teams at the Asian Games.

Some sports bodies are already pushing ahead, proposing their own plans for the Asian Games.

The Korean Canoe Federation said Monday a joint team for the dragon boat race — one of three canoe disciplines at the event — will be a good idea since neither Korea has a national team for it.

“Even if we form a joint team, it won’t affect any existing athletes,” the group said in a statement.

The joint teams could hold open practice sessions on the Han river in Seoul as well as the Taedong river in Pyongyang, it added.

But the South’s football association declined the idea, Yonhap news agency reported, saying the move could require unwanted sacrifices from its players.

In South Korea, male athletes who win gold at the Asian Games or any Olympic medal are exempted from the country’s mandatory two-year military service.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min could be among the players seeking the Asian Games title to enable him to extend his career in Europe without interruptions. —