DAEJEON -- A unified Korean team captured the mixed doubles table tennis title at an international tournament in Daejeon on Saturday.

The duo of Jang Woo-jin (South Korea) and Cha Hyo-sim (NorthKorea) defeated Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha of China 3-1 (5-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-8) in the mixed doubles final at the International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Platinum Korea Open in the city, 160 kilometers south of Seoul.

Jang and Cha were one of four unified Korean doubles teams assembled at this tournament. The other mixed doubles tandem, Choe Il (North) and Yoo Eun-chong (South), lost in the round of 16 on Thursday, as did the women's doubles team of Suh Hyo-won (South) and Kim Song-i (North).

In the men's doubles, Lee Sang-su (South) and Pak Sin-hyok(North) lost in the semifinals Friday.

Jang has secured two more medals at the Korea Open. After winning his mixed doubles title Saturday, Jang defeated Jun Mizutani of Japan 4-1 (11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 12-10) in the men's singles semifinals and booked a spot in Sunday's final.

Also on Sunday, Jang and his South Korean partner Lim Jong-hoon will play in the men's doubles final against Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong.

Jang and Cha dropped the opening game with some sloppy play but took the second game handily 11-3, with a combination of Cha's steady serves and Jang's powerful winners.

They also had little trouble winning the third game 11-4, and the momentum was fully on their side. It was a tighter battle in the fourth game, but Team Korea emerged victorious 11-8.
  
Jang and Cha, unseeded, had to get through Tuesday's qualification stage, though they didn't have to play their game when their opponents withdrew with an injury.

In the round of 16 on Thursday morning, Jang and Cha upset the second-seeded team from Hong Kong, Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem, 3-1 (8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8).

They then took down the No. 5 seed, Ho Kwan Kit and Lee Ho Ching of Hong Kong, 3-0 (13-11, 11-4, 11-8). In the semifinals, the Koreans beat Chen Chien-An and Cheng I-Ching of Taiwan 3-2 (6-11, 11-5, 14-16, 11-6, 11-4).

North Korea sent 16 players -- eight male and eight female -- for its first appearance at the Korea Open, which is in its 18th edition. The Koreas are also competing as one in an international table tennis event for the second time this year, following their decision to combine their women's teams for the semifinals at the world team championships in Sweden in May.

The unified team's winning title raised hope that sports diplomacy can play a role in thawing ties between the two Koreas, following the unified women's ice hockey team performance during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

"The unified team's victory showed a moment of the improving inter-Korean relations. I was thrilled and touched by their victory," Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said, after giving an award to the team. "As sports are very innocent and peaceful, sports diplomacy is a strong part of inter-Korean exchanges. Sports stand in the center of relations between the two Koreas." (Yonhap)