SYDNEY (Yonhap) ― Ri Pun-hui, a retired North Korean table tennis star who once competed on a unified team with South Koreans for a world title, said Sunday she hoped to see the two Koreas play on the same team once again.
In an interview in Sydney, where she is visiting with Pyongyang’s deaf football team, Ri said the divided countries should try to form unified squads more often.
Ri, currently secretary general of the North Korean Sports Association for the Disabled, was a member of the unified Korean squad at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba City, Japan. She teamed up with the South Korean star Hyun Jung-hwa for the gold medal in the women’s team event, as the Koreans denied China its ninth straight championship.
“It’s disappointing that the unified (table tennis) team was a one-time thing at Chiba City,” Ri said. “I hope there will be more unified teams in the future.”
The success of the 1991 table tennis squad was made into a South Korean film, titled “As One,” in 2012.
Ri, 45, had been scheduled to visit the South Korean city of Incheon in October, as part of the North’s delegation to the 2014 Asian Para Games, and to reunite with Hyun for the first time since the 1991 world championships.
However, Ri suffered injuries in an auto accident late September and was unable to recover in time for the trip.
Ri said she wasn’t as severely injured as was reported, but added that she is still dealing with after-effects of the accident.
“I think I will have another opportunity to visit South Korea,” Ri said.
Within a week of Ri’s accident, Hyun crashed into a taxi while driving under the influence of alcohol, and had to resign from her post as the mayor of the athletes’ village for the Asian Para Games.
Ri said she had heard about Hyun’s situation, adding that she hoped to meet her former teammate in the near future.
“We all go through different things in life,” Ri said.
