The Korean men’s ice hockey team defeated nemesis Japan for the first time in Tokyo with a 4-2 win on Sunday.
The home side went ahead just one minute into the first period, but Kim Geun-ho netted twice and Kim Yoon-hwan and Shin Sang-woo added goals to seal the victory.
Since the two sides began meeting on the international stage in 1982, Korea had never triumphed, recording one draw and seven losses including a 2-0 defeat on Saturday.
In November, the Korea Ice Hockey Association signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its Japanese counterpart to hold a two-leg series on a regular basis. Korea is scheduled to host the second series in March next year.
“The win is very thrilling and shows Korean ice hockey has evolved through the Asian league,” said head coach Byun Sun-wook.
“It will help boost players’ confidence ahead of the world championships in the middle of this month.”
In the world rankings, based on the past four years’ results in international competitions, Korea sits 31st, nine places behind Japan.