Korea beats Russia 3-2 in sledge hockey opener at Paralympics

Korean sledge hockey players celebrate after their come-from-behind victory over Russia at Shayba Arena in Sochi, Russia, Sunday (KST). / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Under the gaze of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the Korean sledge hockey team opened the Sochi Paralympics with a dramatic 3-2 win over Russia on Sunday (KST).

Russia went ahead in the first period at the Shayba Arena, when Vasily Varlakov scored the first goal and solidified its lead with forward Evgeny Petrov’s shot in the second period for what was shaping up to be an easy win for Russia.

But Han Min-su changed the atmosphere only 11 seconds after the second goal with a mid-range shot to make it 2-1, and Cho Byeong-seok’s goal in the third period sent the game to a shootout, where Korea eventually beat the hosts 3-2.

The win put Korea in second place in Group B behind the United States, with Russia and Italy in third and fourth respectively. While winners receive three points and losers get none, winners in overtime only get two and losers get one.

Park Jong-seork competes in alpine skiing at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. / Yonhap

With the mighty United States thrashing Italy 5-1 on the same day, winning the game was critical for Korea and Russia to advance to the semifinals.

In front of a massive home crowd chanting “Russia,” Team Korea defied the pressure and showed insurmountable determination throughout the game, disappointing the home fans and Putin, a keen hockey fan.

Korea will play the United States at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday (KST).

Korea’s win was also very significant for many of its sports fans, who are still upset about figure skater Kim Yu-na’s controversial loss to Russia’s Adelina Sotnikova.

The two countries’ sports rivalry became very pronounced after the Olympic success of naturalized Russian Viktor Ahn in short-track speed skating, in which he won three gold medals and one bronze. Indeed the rivalry is expected to intensify ahead of their first World Cup event on June 18.

In Group A, Canada beat Sweden 10-1, while medal contender Norway barely avoided losing against the Czech Republic, taking a 2-1 shootout victory.

In wheelchair curling, Vancouver silver medalist Korea was routed by Norway 10-0, but then improved to defeat the United States 9-5.

In alpine skiing, Park Jong-seork finished 12th at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, clocking one minute 36.61 seconds, among 22 athletes.

For the 10-day Paralympics, which began with an extravagant opening ceremony on Friday, nearly 600 athletes from 44 countries are in Sochi to compete in five events — alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, sledge hockey and wheelchair curling.

A total of 27 Korean athletes will participate in all disciplines except for the biathlon. Korea, which has participated in every Winter Paralympics since 1992, hopes to win its second consecutive medal from the Games after finishing 18th with one silver medal in Vancouver.