Ice hockey: Future of unified Korean team not a given - coach

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (Reuters) - Sarah Murray is proud to have coached the combined North and South Korean women's ice hockey squad at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics but is unsure whether the unified team will ever take the ice again.

Murray had to reshape her squad just weeks before the Games after the two Koreas agreed to field a combined team, taking 12 players from the North and incorporating them into the South's 23-player roster.

South Korea suggested the formation of a joint team as part of its efforts to use the Games to re-engage with the North and clear the way for talks over Pyeongyang's weapons program.

Although the team lost five straight games to end the Olympic tournament in last place, they generated huge interest at home and abroad. International Olympic Committee member Angela Ruggiero even suggested they should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Murray said the attitude of her squad had been crucial in the successful integration of the North Korean players.

"If we had just one player who decided that they weren't accepting the North on our team, it would have made things really difficult," she told a news conference on Wednesday.

"Even the players that didn't get the chance to play in every game, they were still buying into the system, they were still being a great member of the team."

International Ice Hockey Federation chief Rene Fasel has left the door open to the combined team competing in four years' time in Beijing.

Source: Yahoo News