[This image was captured from Sarah Murray's smartphone messenger app profile page]
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Aju News) -- Amid ongoing controversy over an unprecedented joint Olympic team involving South and North Korean female ice hockey players, the outspoken foreign coach of South Korea's national team has created a fuss by uploading the picture of hungry gray wolves onto her smartphone messenger app.
After the two Koreas agreed to field a joint team in women's ice hockey in next month's Winter Olympics, South Korea's public opinion has been split, with some people insisting it would be unfair for South Korean athletes to lose a precious playing opportunity or they have become a political scapegoat.
South Korean coach Sarah Murray has rapped out obvious complaints, saying her team, backed by imported players from Canada and the United States, is strong enough to produce good results.
Sarah Murray [Yonhap Photo]
The 29-year-old American has uploaded an image onto her smartphone messenger app that showed a herd of 11 wolves under her slogan "Are we predators or are we prey?", causing competitive domestic media coverage. Some media reports speculated that the image revealed Murray's emotions or hidden meanings related to her disturbed feelings.
At a news conference Monday at a training camp in Jincheon, some 75 kilometers (46 miles) south of Seoul, the coach said her intention should not be misinterpreted because the image was created to bolster the mental power of her kids.
Murray said she wanted South Korean players to focus on training like predators fixing eyes on their prey without being distracted by politics.
The Unification Flag [Yonhap Photo]
Under a decision by the International Olympic Committee that North Korea would send 12 players to join the 23-player South Korean squad for the women's hockey tournament, and Murray should put at least three North Koreans into the lineup.
The coach said she would exercise "complete control" and play as she wanted. "We don't have a lot of days leading up to the Olympics, and we can't waste any extra energy being angry," she said.
That will be the first unified Korean team in Olympic history, and South and North Korean athletes will march together under one flag symbolizing a unified Korea.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
