THE combined Korean women’s table tennis team won bronze today at the world championships.

The three-woman team — two players from the south, one from the north — lost to Japan 3-0 in the semi-finals. The tournament has two bronze medallists and no third-place game.

North and South Korea joined forces yesterday rather than play against each other in the quarter-finals.

It followed one week after a cross-border summit between the neighbouring states’ leaders.

Kim Song I, who won an Olympic bronze medal for North Korea at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, came closest to scoring a point today, losing to her Japanese opponent in a decisive fifth game.

Kim also took bronze with North Korea at the 2016 world championship.