S-N Ping-pong celebrations in Pyongyang

Rekindling memories of `Jiba` in Pyongyang, the South-North unification table tennis contest was held at the Pyongyang Indoor Gymnasium on the 28th. The competition between the Samsung Life and Moranbong table tennis teams was opened with a lighting ceremony on a scoreboard donated by Samsung Electronics. The event was especially significant due to the fact that it was the first sports exchange between the 2 nations since the historic June summit meeting. At the World Table Tennis Championship slated for next year in Osaka, a joint South-North team may be fielded.

From Samsung Life, one member of the joint South-North table tennis team that participated in the 1991 Jiba World Championships, Park Hae-Jung, was present. From the Moranbong side, a male player, Kim Sung-Hee, was in attendance. At the 1991 championships, Park was the youngest player in the joint squad, but 9 years later is now like an elder sister for those on the Samsung Life team.

The Morabong team, which included national team members such as Kim Sung-Hee and Kim Hyun-Hee, was favored over Samsung Life, which had no national squad players. More relevant, however, was that the games were held in an enthusiastic and friendly environment, making victory unimportant. Following the male and female singles and doubles matches, the final mixed doubles match was played by forming teams including players from both countries to underscore the themes of `unification` and `independence`.

After the opening ceremony, the first game was the men`s singles between Samsung`s Seo Dong-Chul and Moranbong`s Kim Sung-Hee. Kim Sung-Hi, the husband of the woman largely responsible for the women`s joint team`s win, Lee Bun-Hee, beat Seo in two sets (21-11, 21-13), cementing his standing as the North`s star player. In the women`s singles, North Korea`s Kim Hyun-Hee won a hard-earned victory from Samsung veteran Park Hae-Jung in 2 sets (21-18, 21-15).