DAEJEON, South Korea, July 20 (Xinhua) -- A unified mixed doubles pair from South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will face a Chinese duo in the final of the mixed doubles event in the Seamaster 2018 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Platinum Korea Open.
South Korea's Jang Woo-jin and the DPRK's Cha Hyo Sim beat Chinese Taipei's Chen Chien-An and Cheng I-Ching 4-1 (6-11, 11-5, 14-16, 11-6, 11-4) in the semifinals.
The unified duo's victory was all the more surprising as they had trained together for just a couple of days before their triumph over the No.4 seeds from Chinese Taipei.
The Korean duo will now face China's Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha in Saturday's final. Wang and Sun showed impressive form by defeating home favorites Lim Jong-hoon and Yang Hae-un 3-1 (11-9, 12-14, 11-9, 11-6) in the semi-finals.
Elsewhere, a separate unified team of South Korea's Lee Sang-su and the DPRK's Pak Sin Hyok booked their place in the semifinals of the men's doubles event by defeating one of China's most powerful duos.
Right-handed Lee and Left-handed Pak beat China's Liang Jinkun and Yan An 3-2 (11-9, 13-11, 3-11, 4-11, 11-7) in a hard-fought duel.
Meanwhile, China's Wang Chuqin and Xue Fei cruised into the semifinals of the men's doubles event by beating No.8 seeds Lam Siu Hang and Ng Pak Nam of Hong Kong, China, 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-6).
Wang and Xue will face the host nation's Jang Woo-jin and Lim Jong-hoon, who overcame No.3 seeds Koki Niwa and Jin Ueda of Japan in the quarterfinals.
The Korea Open kicked off on Tuesday in Daejeon, some 160 km south of the capital Seoul, and lasts until Sunday, with around 230 players from 27 countries and regions participating.