S. Korea to host pre-qualifying event for 2022 Olympic women's hockey

South Korea will host a pre-qualification round for the 2022 Winter Olympic women's hockey tournament, the sport's national governing body announced Wednesday. The Korea Ice Hockey Association (KIHA) said the second pre-qualifying round will run from Feb. 11 to 14 in 2021 in Gangneung, some 230 kilometers east of Seoul. Gangneung hosted all men's and women's hockey games during the 2018 Winter Olympics. The second pre-qualifying round will feature three groups of four teams. South Korea will

More SportsJune 24, 2020

KLPGA practice round canceled after recent visitor tests positive for coronavirus

An official practice round for a South Korean women's golf tournament was canceled on Wednesday after the event organizers learned that a recent visitor to the competition venue tested positive for the novel coronavirus, though the actual tournament will begin as scheduled on Thursday. The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour announced on Wednesday that the practice round for the BC Card Hankyung Ladies Cup at the Fortune Hills Country Club in Pocheon, some 45 kilometers nor

GolfJune 24, 2020

Rays' infielder Choi Ji-man leaves for US to rejoin club

Tampa Bay Rays' South Korean first baseman Choi Ji-man, who has been training in his home country since April, left for the United States Tuesday to rejoin his club. A source close to Choi said Tuesday the player will continue to work out on his own until there's more clarity regarding the start of the 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. When the coronavirus pandemic put the start of the season on indefinite hold, Choi came home on March 24. Following a two-week quarantine, Choi started

BaseballJune 23, 2020

Ex-MLB player Kang Jung-ho apologizes over DUI cases, begs for chance to play in KBO

Contrite over his past drunk driving arrests, former major leaguer Kang Jung-ho apologized for his actions Tuesday in his bid for a return to the South Korean league. "I know that no word can ever wash away the things I did, and I deeply regret my wrongdoing," Kang said at the start of a press conference at a Seoul hotel. It was his first public appearance since returning from the United States on June 5. He spent the next 14 days in government-mandated quarantine amid the coronaviru

BaseballJune 23, 2020

LCK Summer Split kicks off with a pentakill

League of Legends Champions Korea’s 2020 summer season kicked off Wednesday, to the joy of many fans watching from home. Although the seats were empty in the LoL Park Arena in Jongno, Seoul, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, thousands of fans watched the opening games online. Although they felt bad about having no audience, players expressed joy at being able to play at the LoL Park Arena again after COVID-19 forced them to play in team facilities for the second half of the spring seas

More SportsJune 20, 2020

Reticent KBO manager expresses rare excitement over healthy lineup

On his way to ballpark on Thursday, Lotte Giants' manager Her Mun-hoe walked with an extra spring in his step, knowing that he'd have a fully, healthy lineup for the first time in a month. Second baseman An Chi-hong will return Thursday against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, after missing the past three days with a left hamstring injury. Versatile utility man Jung Hoon came back to the lineup Wednesday after being sidelined for over a month with an oblique injury. Jung went 2-

BaseballJune 18, 2020

KBO's two worst teams make 1-for-1 trade

The two worst teams in South Korean baseball made a trade on Thursday. The last-place Hanwha Eagles dealt reliever Lee Tae-yang to the No. 9 club SK Wyverns in exchange for outfielder Ro Soo-kwang, the two Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) clubs announced. Lee, 29, is a right-hander who has started and pitched out of the bullpen in eight KBO seasons. In seven relief appearances this season, Lee has a 7.27 ERA without a win-loss record. Lee enjoyed his best season in 2018, when he went 4-2 wi

BaseballJune 18, 2020

LPGA stars set to compete at 2nd major of S. Korean tour

The second major championship of the South Korean women's golf tour is scheduled for this week, with the leaderboard come Sunday likely to resemble that from an LPGA event. World No. 1 Ko Jin-young is one of a handful of LPGA stars who will take the field at the 34th Kia Motors Korea Women's Open Golf Championship, which will run from Thursday to Sunday at Bears Best Cheongna Golf Club in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul. It's the second major of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Associat

GolfJune 17, 2020

Lotte Giants hold off Kiwoom Heroes to open KBO midweek series

Dixon Machado had three hits, including a key RBI single in the eighth, as the Lotte Giants got past the Kiwoom Heroes 7-5 to open their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) midweek series on the road on Tuesday. Machado, a shortstop getting a breather from the field as the designated hitter in this game, enjoyed his second three-hit game in six days, and has now hit safely in seven of his past eight games. Lotte starter Noh Kyung-eun improved to 3-2 after holding the Heroes to three runs on thr

BaseballJune 16, 2020

Postponed int'l Olympic meeting in Seoul rescheduled for Oct. 2021

A meeting of national Olympic organizations set to take place in Seoul this year has been rescheduled for October 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) jointly announced on Tuesday that the 2020 ANOC General Assembly, originally scheduled to be held Nov. 25-26 this year in Seoul, will instead take place from Oct. 26-27 next year at COEX Convention Center in the South Korean capital. The t

More SportsJune 16, 2020

Seeking KBO return, embattled ex-MLB player Kang Jung-ho to hold presser next Tuesday

Former major league player Kang Jung-ho, hoping for a return to the South Korean league despite a checkered past marred by multiple drunk driving arrests, will meet with the media next week, his agency said Tuesday. Leeco Sports Agency said Kang will hold a press conference at a Seoul hotel next Tuesday for his first public appearance since returning from the United States on June 5. Per the government mandate on all international arrivals during the coronavirus pandemic, Kang remains in a tw

BaseballJune 16, 2020

More relaxed and confident, NC Dinos' Aaron Altherr emerges from slump as lethal force in bottom of lineup

What's your image of a baseball hitter near the bottom of a lineup? Maybe it's a light-hitting, defense-first catcher. Or it's a light-hitting, speed-first, defense-second middle infielder. Or it could be an aging corner outfielder holding down that spot just because someone has to. The NC Dinos, the best team in South Korean baseball so far this year, have the luxury of employing a strapping center fielder in the lower third of their batting order, a former major leaguer with a swing so compa

BaseballJune 16, 2020

LoL Champions Korea to kick off summer season

The 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer season will start Wednesday with its opening match. 　 CGV, South Korea’s largest multiplex chain, will screen the competition on 22 screens across the country at its ScreenX theaters. ScreenX theaters have multiple screens, allowing the main screen to show the match while side screens show game data and analysis. Fans watching at CGV will get vouchers that can be used to purchase in-game items such as emotes and character skins. “

More SportsJune 16, 2020

S. Korean Im Sung-jae becomes top-ranked Asian man in world golf rankings

South Korean golfer Im Sung-jae is now the highest-ranked Asian player on the men's world rankings. Im climbed two spots to reach a career-high No. 21 on the latest rankings released Monday. The rise came on the heels of Im's third consecutive top-10 finish on the PGA Tour at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Forth Worth, Texas. It was the first PGA tournament following a three-month pause caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Rankings had been frozen during the tour's hiatus. Im has jumped past

GolfJune 16, 2020

Baseball player set to take another crack at pitching

All he wants to do is to pitch again. Kang Ji-kwang of the SK Wyverns will take his second crack at pitching in the pros, his Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club announced Monday. His season debut on the mound will come in the Futures League, the KBO's minor league, as early as Tuesday, the Wyverns added. The 29-year-old was a hard-throwing high school pitcher who converted to an infielder after getting drafted by the LG Twins in 2009. He made his KBO debut with the Nexen (currently Kiwoom

BaseballJune 15, 2020

With veterans set to return, Hanwha Eagles looking to take off in KBO

Funny how baseball works sometimes. As of Sunday morning, the Hanwha Eagles were mired in an 18-game losing streak, tied for longest in the history of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), which began in 1982. By the evening, though, the Eagles emerged with two straight victories, the longest active winning streak in the league. The Eagles ended the slide with a 7-6 victory over the Doosan Bears at home in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul. It was a continuation of a game suspended by r

BaseballJune 15, 2020

KBO's Hanwha Eagles snap record-tying losing streak at 18

DAEJEON -- Start spreading the news: the Hanwha Eagles have finally won a game. The Eagles snapped their Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) record-tying losing skid at 18 games on Sunday with a 7-6 walk-off victory over the Doosan Bears at home in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul. Noh Tae-hyoung delivered the game-winning single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, giving the Eagles their first victory since May 22. The Eagles and the Bears picked up this game from the bottom of th

BaseballJune 14, 2020

Hanwha Eagles lose 18th straight to tie all-time KBO record

The Hanwha Eagles have tied a South Korean baseball record that no team wants to match: the longest losing streak. The Eagles fell to the Doosan Bears 5-2 on Friday for their 18th consecutive loss, which put them in a tie with the 1985 Sammi Superstars for the longest futilty streak in the history of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The Eagles, who dropped to 7-27, will try to avoid taking sole possession of the dubious record Saturday against the same Bears at Hanwha Life Eagles Park

BaseballJune 12, 2020

KBO player with fever tests negative for coronavirus

A South Korean baseball player who exhibited fever earlier in the week has tested negative for the novel coronavirus. The Lotte Giants said Friday their catcher Jeong Bo-keun took a test for COVID-19 the previous day after showing fever, and the result came back negative 24 hours later. Jeong was immediately dropped from the active roster on Thursday. The Giants said Jeong also had diarrhea and showed symptoms commonly associated with enteritis, but because he also had a fever, they didn't w

BaseballJune 12, 2020

Bitter 16: Hanwha Eagles drop 16th consecutive game in KBO

Sweet 16, it wasn't.    The Hanwha Eagles lost their 16th consecutive game in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Wednesday, as the home team Lotte Giants manhandled them 12-2 at Sajik Stadium in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul.    The Eagles are now 7-25, dead last in the 10-team league, while the Giants have now won five in a row to move to 16-15.    The Eagles are now tied with the 2002 Lotte Giants and the 2010 Kia Tigers for the third-longest

BaseballJune 10, 2020