Hockey squad faces Spain in Olympic bid

South Korea will face Spain in the final Olympic women’s hockey qualifying matches next month, with the possibility of forming a joint team with North Korea fading by the day.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced the draws for its last Olympic qualifiers following the draw on Monday in Lausanne, Switzerland.

South Korea, world No. 11, will take on the seventh-ranked Spain on Oct. 25 and 26 in Valencia, with the winner punching its ticket to Tokyo for next year’s Summer Games.

There will be 12 nations at the Olympics, and five spots have already been sealed. The South Korea-Spain showdown will be one of seven head-to-head matches.

South Korea is seeking its ninth consecutive Olympic appearance in women’s field hockey.

In February, South Korea and North Korea agreed to field joint teams in qualifying stages for women’s field hockey, women’s basketball, judo and rowing.

But North Korea didn’t respond to South Korean proposals for joint training ahead of a pre-qualifying tournament in June, and South Korea competed alone and won the tournament in Ireland.

Yonhap