Mumbai, Jan 18 (PTI) Pole vault legend Sergey Bubka todaytermed North and South Korea's decision to march under oneflag at the opening ceremony of next month's Winter Olympicsas "unbelievable" and attributed the positive development to"power of sport".
"Well, personally during the executive board of IOC(International Olympic Committee), we discussed the issue acouple of days back. I am very excited. I feel the IOC isdoing an incredible job to unify (the board), bring in peace,bring in people and nations together," Bubka, who is theInternational Event Ambassador of TATA Mumbai Marathon, toldreporters here.
"What we see today was unbelievable. I will pray and lookthe two Korean nations to merge together and I know that withthis decision they will merge under one flag. This isunbelievable power of sports and Olympics. I am very happy andproud," said the Ukranian, who is regarded as one of thegreatest Olympians.
Bubka, an honorary member of the IOC, represented theSoviet Union till 1991.
North and South Korean athletes will march together atthe Winter Olympics opening ceremony under a unified flag, theSouth had said, in a diplomatic breakthrough following days oftalks between the two countries.
Asked whether he follows Indian athletes in the Olympics,Bubka, who bagged the gold medal in 1988 Seoul Games, said, "Iwill not able to mention many things. I know your country isvery sporting, you have good tradition in some sports --shooting, cricket and many other things.
"(But) it is very important for your athletes to performwell and make the nation proud. I wish a lot of success."Bubka also refused to comment on the large-scale dopingmenace unearthed in Russia.
Bubka recalled how his friend was instrumental inintroducing him to the game at the age of 10 and attributedhis success to his coach.
"It was a small group because it was only (one) coach. Itis exciting when you run with a stick and after you jump youfly. If you do wrong, you can kill yourself. It is a seriousevent. My coach was intelligent who created interest andtaught me in the right way," said Bubka.
Bubka also threw light on the importance of running foran athlete.
"Running is the base of all sports. It is the core of myevent pole vault. It is a combination of athletics andgymnastics," he signed off. PTI NRB SSCSSC.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.