Pro football league to allow practice matches between clubs starting Tuesday

Starting Tuesday, South Korean professional football clubs will be allowed to play practice matches against one another, as their league inches closer to opening the season that has been delayed for nearly two months by the coronavirus.    The Korean Professional Football League, or simply the K League, made the announcement Monday evening. With such short notice, clubs may not be able to play a match immediately on Tuesday, but there will likely be a few later in the week.  &nb

SportsApril 20, 2020

Son of legend wins 1st MVP award in men's basketball

Heo Hoon, the second son of the South Korean hoops legend Hur Jae, was named the most valuable player (MVP) in the men's pro basketball league Monday. The third-year guard for the KT Sonicboom in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) earned his first regular season MVP honor, collecting 63 out of 111 votes from the media. DB Promy center Kim Jong-kyu had 47 votes. Heo, the first overall pick at the 2017 draft, led the KBL with 7.2 assists per game, and ranked second among South Korean-born playe

More SportsApril 20, 2020

Tottenham's Son Heung-min starts military training with Marines

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min reported to a Marine Corps unit on Monday to begin his three-week military training on the southern island of Jeju. Son will be in camp until May 8, fulfilling requirements of the military service exemption he earned by winning the men's football gold medal for South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games. Able-bodied South Korean men must serve about two years in the armed forces. But Son only needs to complete basic training and 544 hours of commun

SoccerApril 20, 2020

S. Korean baseball to return with preseason action this week

It's time to play ball in South Korea -- some preseason ball, that is. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will open a truncated exhibition season Tuesday, with its 10 clubs scheduled to play four games each through April 27. The coronavirus outbreak forced the KBO to wipe out its original, March 14-24 preseason and also postpone its March 28 Opening Day. But a recent decline in new COVID-19 cases has allowed the league to reschedule its preseason, and it's expected to announce the new regu

BaseballApril 20, 2020

Eased social distancing guidelines open door for pro sports to begin in May

A recent decline in coronavirus cases, plus the government's subsequent easing of social distancing guidelines, have opened doors for the country's two biggest professional sports leagues to begin long-awaited seasons next month. South Korea reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, the first time in two months that the daily figure stayed in a single digit. Later in the day, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said "outdoor sports games" could be held if proper safety measures are

SportsApril 19, 2020

Tottenham's Son Heung-min to begin military training in S. Korea this week

Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min will begin his three-week military training this week at a Marine Corps boot camp on the southern island of Jeju to fulfill his minimum military duty after he was given an exemption from mandatory military service. Son, 28, will join the 9th Brigade of the Marine Corps on Monday and undergo training until May 8. He earned his exemption from the military service by winning the gold medal for South Korea at the 2018 Asian Games. Instead of serving around

SoccerApril 19, 2020

Short track worlds in Seoul canceled due to coronavirus

The world championships in short track speed skating, scheduled to take place in Seoul this year, have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The International Skating Union (ISU) announced the decision in a statement following an online ISU Council meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday (local time). The World Short Track Speed Skating Championships were to take place March 13-15 in the South Korean capital, but on Feb. 26, the event was postponed indefinitely. Then on March 2

More SportsApril 17, 2020

S. Korea's Olympic basketball qualifying tournament postponed

The men's Olympic basketball qualifying tournament involving South Korea has been pushed back by a year, following the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games to 2021. FIBA, the international basketball governing body, announced Friday the qualifying matches will now be played between June 22 and July 4 next year, with the exact dates pending approval by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Four different qualifying tournaments had been scheduled to run from June 23-28 this year in

Olympic GamesApril 10, 2020

Baseball clubs open to playing postseason at league's only dome as neutral venue: source

If the 2020 South Korean baseball postseason gets pushed to early winter by the coronavirus outbreak, then teams would be willing to play at a neutral, climate-controlled venue to ensure a warmer setting for players and fans, an informed source said Friday. The source told Yonhap News Agency that general managers (GMs) from multiple Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) clubs are in favor of playing late playoff games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, the only domed ballpark in the country. It is the h

SportsApril 3, 2020

Tottenham star Son Heung-min to start 3-week military training

Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min will take part in a three-week basic training for mandatory military service required by South Korea, sources familiar with that matter said Thursday. He is exempt from conscription but will receive the training at a Marine Corps camp on Jeju Island from April 20. All able-bodied South Korean men must serve active duty for at least 18 months, but athletes who win gold at the Asian Games or a medal of any color at the Olympics can complete a basic train

SoccerApril 2, 2020

Baseball league mulling shortening season over coronavirus

The South Korean baseball league is pondering shortening the 2020 regular season by as many as 36 games, with its start having been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) held an executive committee meeting with general managers (GMs) from 10 clubs Tuesday at the league headquarters in Seoul. The season was supposed to have begun last Saturday, but the COVID-19 outbreak forced the KBO to postpone the start indefinitely. Last Tuesday, the board of governors -

BaseballMarch 31, 2020

Table tennis worlds in S. Korea postponed for 2nd time due to coronavirus

The world's top table tennis tournament set to take place in South Korea has been postponed for the second time because of the global coronavirus pandemic. Following its executive committee meeting Sunday, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) decided to shelve all international competitions and activities until June 30, 2020. With that, the World Team Table Tennis Championships, which had been slated to run from June 21-28 in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, has been postp

More SportsMarch 30, 2020

Injured Tottenham star Son Heung-min returns home to continue rehab

Tottenham Hotspur's injured South Korean star Son Heung-min has returned home to continue his rehab for a fractured arm, due to the spread of the coronavirus in Britain, sources said Monday. They said Son arrived back in South Korea from London on Saturday afternoon. Son suffered a broken right forearm during a Premier League match against Aston Villa on Feb. 16 and underwent surgery in Seoul five days later. He returned to London earlier this month, and following a two-week self-isolation pe

SoccerMarch 30, 2020

[Graphic News] 6 stars for whom Olympics in 2021 may come too late

　With the 2020 Olympics postponed until 2021, there are fears the delay will shatter the gold medal hopes of many aging athletes. 　AFP Sport looks at six evergreen stars for whom a delayed Tokyo Games might be a step too far. 　 1. Roger Federer 　The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who will be 40 in August 2021, won Olympic gold when he partnered Stan Wawrinka to the men’s doubles title at the 2008 Beijing Games. Federer was a quarterfinalist in singles in China and a silver medalist in 2

SportsMarch 29, 2020

S. Korea's main Olympic training center emptied

Some 500 South Korean Olympic athletes and coaches have temporarily moved out of their main training facility over the past two days, setting themselves up for a breather after the postponement of this year's Summer Games in Tokyo. Acting on an order by the Korea Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC), athletes and coaches in about a dozen sports packed up and left the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, some 90 kilometers south of Seoul. About 200 from table tennis, archery, diving,

Olympic GamesMarch 27, 2020

S. Korean football federation asks IOC to adjust age limit for Olympics in 2021

The South Korean national football federation on Thursday asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to adjust the age restriction on male players at next year's Summer Games in Tokyo so that those who helped the country qualify will still be eligible to play in the rescheduled competition. The Olympic men's football tournament is only open to players who are 23 or younger, except for a maximum three overage players permitted for each nation. For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, those born on or

Olympic GamesMarch 26, 2020

Mixed reactions from S. Korean athletes, coaches to Tokyo 2020 postponement

Olympic gymnastics champion Yang Hak-seon had been peaking just in time for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, originally slated to start July 24. When the men's vault gold medalist from the 2012 London Games heard the news Tuesday night that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had postponed the Olympics to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, his first thought was, "How am I going to keep doing this for another year?" "I wanted to be able to compete in the Olympics when m

Olympic GamesMarch 26, 2020

National football governing body to temporarily cut pay in coronavirus crunch

Faced with a financial crunch stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the South Korean national football federation will temporarily slash the pay of its executives. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Thursday the monthly salaries for its senior executives, starting from department directors and above, will be cut by 20 percent beginning this month. The pay cut may remain in effect through the end of the year, according to a KFA official. The KFA's revenue is expected to fall by an est

SoccerMarch 26, 2020

No requalifying for S. Korean athletes for postponed Tokyo Games: Olympic committee

South Korean athletes who've already qualified for the Tokyo Summer Games won't have to do so again, even though the competition has been postponed, their national Olympic committee said Wednesday. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach assured leaders of national Olympic bodies last week that athletes would not be required to requalify even if the Olympics were rescheduled. Faced with the global coronavirus pandemic, t

Olympic GamesMarch 25, 2020

Tokyo 2020 postponement puts S. Korean football players' Olympic status in doubt

The postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics will mean different things to different athletes. For several South Korean male football players, it may mean the loss of a career-altering opportunity. The quadrennial competition has been pushed back to next year due to the coronavirus outbreak. The International Olympic Committee still has long ways to go before finalizing the details of the qualifying processes for different sports. No matter which direction the IOC takes, perhaps no spo

Olympic GamesMarch 25, 2020