IOC considers allowing unified Korean women's basketball team to enter qualification for Tokyo 2020 Olympics

MIES (Switzerland)  - After having played together as a single Korean team at the 2018 Asian Games, the Korea national women's basketball side is leading the charge to have more unified sides from the peninsula at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

That was one of the takeaways from a working meeting held on Friday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to dicuss further sports cooperation between the Republic of Korea (KOR) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (PRK).

During the tripartite meeting, the IOC and the two Korean delegations - consisting of representatives from their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and governments - discussed the format and pathway for the participation of several unified Korean teams, made up of athletes from both NOCs, at the next Summer Games.

The parties agreed on the principles guiding such unified Korean teams by sport and discipline. It was decided that participation at the Tokyo 2020 Games would be based on successful qualification in those sports and disciplines for which both NOCs wish to compete as a unified Korean team.

Women's basketball is one of four sports that North and South Korea are hoping to compete in as a unified team. The others are: women's hockey, judo (mixed team event) and rowing (women's and men's in the fours, quadruple sculls and eights events).

The IOC agreed to continue studying, in particular with the respective International Federations (IFs), the request of the two NOCs for unified Korean teams to take part in qualification for those sports.

Players from North and South Korea teamed up in women's basketball at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, where they reached the Final. That impressive run is one reason why the IOC is considering the move for Tokyo 2020.

FIBA