Unified Korean team could be Beijing-bound
The prospect of seeing a unified Korean women's hockey team return to action at the 2022 Winter Olympics would be welcomed by International Ice Hockey Federation, who believe it would keep alive the message of peace and hope.
The team has found little success on the ice, losing all four games so far while scoring just one goal, but has won a gold medal for diplomacy by bringing together two nations still technically at war.
One member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has even suggested the unified team, competing together for the first time, should be nominated for the Nobel peace prize.
"We are thinking about this, whether we should continue. I say, 'Why not?" IIHF chief Rene Fasel said before the women's semi-finals on Monday.
"I think that would be good to do it in 2022, to go to the Beijing Olympics, to keep the North and South Korean team. It is a message of peace and we hope to continue that. We will try."
Lee Hee-beom, head of the PyeongChang Games organising committee, said they would be open to the idea but indicated he would like to see a long-term plan in place rather than seeing a team formed in a matter of weeks, as happened this year.
