Joint hockey team head coach 'proud' of N. Koreans

INCHEON, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- Even though they didn't really make their presence felt on the joint Korean women's hockey team on Sunday, head coach Sarah Murray said she was still proud of her North Korean players. In a much-anticipated debut, the unified Korean team, with 18 South Koreans and four North Koreans, lost to Sweden 3-1 in a friendly game at Seonhak International Ice Rink in Incheon. It was the only game for the Korean team before the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, where they will open the group phase against Switzerland on Saturday. Under the terms of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision, Murray is in charge of 23 South Koreans and 12 North Koreans on the joint team -- the first of its kind at any Olympic Games. Of those, only 22 can play in each game at the Olympics and at least three must be North Koreans. To test her line combinations, Murray used four North Koreans on Sunday -- forwards Jong Su-hyon, Kim Un-hyang and Ryo Song-hui, and defenseman Hwang Chung-gum. Save for Jong's one shot on goal in the first period, these players didn't really do much on the ice. And they barely got on the ice in the latter portion of the game. But Murray, the Canadian head coach of South Korea since 2014, still gave kudos to her North Korean contingent. "I think that the North Korean players played really well. This is one of the biggest crowds they played in front of," she said. "Being added 12 days ago and not getting to practice together all that much, they played our system pretty well, so I am proud of them." The North Koreans arrived in the South on Jan. 25, but the two sides didn't start practicing together until three days later. "They are eager to learn and get better," Murray said of the North Koreans. "We have been having team meetings with them, and they ask so many questions. The meeting's supposed to be 15 minutes, and an hour later, we are still talking and we are still watching video." Before the joint team was essentially forced upon her, Murray had expressed concerns about a disruption to team chemistry. But now that the single Korean team has become a reality, Murray said it was important for all players -- especially South Korean players who have to sit out to make room for North Koreans -- to keep their focus on the task at hand. "As a coach, it is hard to tell some of your players that you have been with for a quite a long time that they are not going be able to play," she said. "But the whole situation is out of our control. So we are trying to make the best out of it." jeeho@yna.co.kr (END)