S. Korea to face US to begin Super Round in rematch of inaugural final

TOKYO -- South Korea's quest for a spot in the 2020 Olympic baseball tournament will begin in earnest here on Monday against a familiar foe.South Korea will face the United States at Tokyo Dome at 7 p.m. Monday to begin the Super Round at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12. It'll be a rematch of the inaugural Premier12 final from 2015. The Premier12 is also an Olympic qualifying tournament for the Americas and Asia/Oceania. The top dozen teams on the WBSC rankings were divi

BaseballNov. 10, 2019

S. Korea progresses to next round after Australia beats Canada

South Korea advanced to the second stage of the ongoing Olympic baseball qualifying tournament Friday, even before playing its final group game.Australia defeated Canada 3-1 in the teams' final Group C game of the Premier12 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, with cleanup Logan Wade delivering a tie-breaking, two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth.This result left Australia and Canada with the identical record of 1-2, and it also meant South Korea (2-0) will finish among the top two in the group,

BaseballNov. 8, 2019

S. Korean coach Park Hang-seo signs extension with Vietnamese soccer

South Korean coach Park Hang-seo has signed a lucrative extension with the Vietnamese men's national football team.    Park signed his new contract at a press conference with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) here on Thursday. He'll continue to coach both the men's senior and under-23 national teams. The new contract will have two guaranteed years with an option for a third year.    Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Park has been making US$240,000

SoccerNov. 7, 2019

S. Korean coach Park Hang-seo signs extension with Vietnamese football

South Korean coach Park Hang-seo has signed a lucrative extension with the Vietnamese men's national football team.Park signed his new contract at a press conference with the Vietnam Football Federation here on Thursday. He'll continue to coach both the men's senior and under-23 national teams. The new contract will have two guaranteed years with an option for a third year.Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Park has been making $240,000 per year on his current deal, which was to exp

SoccerNov. 7, 2019

S. Korea beats Australia 5-0 to open Group C action

South Korea shut down Australia 5-0 to start its Olympic baseball qualifying tournament at home on Wednesday, holding the opponents to just one single while getting some timely hitting at the plate.Starter Yang Hyeon-jong struck out 10 in six dominant innings of one-hit ball, and the bottom third of the South Korean lineup drove in three runs in South Korea's opening game at the Premier12 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The Premier12 is also the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics fo

BaseballNov. 7, 2019

[Newsmaker] Tottenham's Son Heung-min becomes all-time S. Korean scoring leader in Europe

Son Heung-min now stands alone at the top of the South Korean scoring list in European club football history.The attacking ace for Tottenham Hotspur netted two goals in the Premier League club's 4-0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in their Group B match of the UEFA Champions League at Red Star Stadium in Belgrade on Wednesday (local time). Son now has 123 goals in his European career, breaking a tie with former Bundesliga star Cha Bum-kun's mark of 121 for most by a South Korean player on the con

SoccerNov. 7, 2019

S. Korea fall to N. Korea in women‘s youth football tournament

North Korea beat South Korea 3-1 to reach the championship final of a regional women‘s football tournament in Thailand on Wednesday.　Kim Kyoung-yong scored twice and Pak Il-gyong added another, as North Korea cruised to the victory in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation U-19 Women’s Championship at Chonburi Stadium in Chonburi, Thailand. Kang Ji-woo was the lone scorer for South Korea.　In the final scheduled for Saturday, North Korea will meet the winner of the other s

SoccerNov. 6, 2019

S. Korea reach quarterfinals at FIFA U-17 World Cup

South Korea have advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time in 10 years.Forward Choi Min-seo netted the lone goal as South Korea defeated Angola 1-0 in the round of 16 match at Estadio Olimpico in Goiania, Brazil, on Tuesday (local time).Coached by Kim Jung-soo, South Korea will face either Mexico or Japan in Sunday's quarterfinals. Mexico and Japan will meet in the round of 16 on Wednesday at Estadio Bezerrao in Gama. This is South Korea's third trip to the quar

SoccerNov. 6, 2019

S. Korean coach Park Hang-seo signs extension with Vietnamese nat'l football team

Park Hang-seo, South Korean coach for the Vietnamese men's national football team, has signed a lucrative extension to stay with the upstart program, Park's agency said Tuesday.DJ Management said financial details of the deal, reportedly the largest handed out to a Vietnam men's national football boss, will be announced during a press conference with the Vietnam Football Federation on Thursday.Park's current deal was to expire in January 2020. Vietnamese media reported that Park will stay on for

SoccerNov. 5, 2019

S. Korean captain feeling heat not to repeat disaster at home

Kim Hyun-soo wasn't on the team at the time, but he clearly remembers how South Korea faltered in the group stage of the 2017 World Baseball Classic on home soil, unable to get past the opening phase despite playing all three games in Seoul.More than two years later, South Korea is back at the scene, Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, with even more at stake. The dome will host all Group C games for the Premier12, an international tournament doubling as the Olympic qualifying tournament for the Americas

BaseballNov. 5, 2019

S. Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin nominated for National League Cy Young Award

South Korean left-hander Ryu Hyun-jin has been nominated for the 2019 National League Cy Young Award.Ryu, who led all of baseball with a 2.32 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers this year, was announced as one of three finalists for the NL's top pitching prize by the Baseball Writers' Association of American on Monday (US Eastern Time).Ryu, who's now a free agent, is the first South Korean pitcher to be shortlisted for the Cy Young in either league.BBWAA members already cast their ballots at the end

BaseballNov. 5, 2019

MLB fan event in Seoul postponed over payment issues

A fan event scheduled in Seoul with former Major League Baseball stars on hand has been postponed indefinitely over payment issues, local organizers said Monday.To Go Communication, the PR agency for MLB Experience in Korea, said the event, originally scheduled to run from Thursday to Sunday, has been put on hold, after Mohenic Garages, the presenting sponsor and investment partner, failed to make its due payment.The event was put together by MLB to bring South Korean fans closer to the wor

SportsNov. 4, 2019

S. Korea nat'l football coach looking to help inconsolable Son Heung-min after injury-causing foul

That Son Heung-min was called up on Monday for South Korea's two international matches in November isn't a surprise at all. Whether he'll be in the proper mindset for them is another matter.Son, forward for Tottenham Hotspur, was inconsolable after being sent off for his late tackle on Everton midfielder Andre Gomes during their Premier League contest in Liverpool on Sunday. Gomes was later diagnosed with a broken right ankle, and Son, according to his Tottenham teammates, was crying so much he

SoccerNov. 4, 2019

S. Korea beats military club in tuneup for Olympic baseball qualifiers

The South Korean national baseball team eked out a 5-1 win over the military club Sangmu on Tuesday in a tuneup game for the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament. Starter Park Jong-hoo tossed three shutout innings and slugger Choi Jeong had two of the team's seven hits at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, where pitchers generally looked sharper than hitters.Managed by Kim Kyung-moon, South Korea is gearing up for the Premier12 tournament, which begins next week as the Olympic qualification event. Sou

BaseballOct. 29, 2019

'It's crazy': Tiger Woods secures record 82nd US PGA Tour win in Japan

INZAI (AFP) -- Tiger Woods said it was "crazy"  after he made golfing history Monday by holding off the challenge of home favourite Hideki Matsuyama to win the weather-delayed Zozo Championship by three shots.The 15-time major winner Woods finished 19-under par to equal US legend Sam Snead's all-time record of 82 US PGA Tour victories set 54 years ago.Woods, in his first outing since arthroscopic knee surgery two months ago, broke into a huge smile after he safely got up and down

GolfOct. 28, 2019

Doosan Bears claw their way up to claim improbable Korean Series title

Back on Aug. 15, the Doosan Bears were nine games back in third place in the Korea Baseball Organization standings, far enough behind the league-leading SK Wyverns with 33 games remaining that the Bears weren't regarded as a serious threat to the Wyverns' bid for the regular season crown.But the Bears toppled the Wyverns for first place on the final day of the regular season on Oct. 1. And some three weeks later on Saturday, the Bears celebrated the 2019 Korean Series title, the franchise's sixt

BaseballOct. 27, 2019

S. Korean wins gold at youth weightlifting competition in Pyongyang

South Korea's Yeom Da-hoon set an Asian record as he won a gold medal at a continental youth weightlifting competition in Pyongyang on Friday. Yeom was the top performer in the men's 89-kilogram division in the 2019 Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championships after clearing a combined total of 358 kilograms. Yeom, a son of the 1990 Asian Games weightlifting gold medalist Yeom Dong-chul, was third in the snatch at 160kg, but became the overall leader after lifting 198kg in the clean

More SportsOct. 25, 2019

US golfer Gillman gets 1st hole-in-one at LPGA event in S. Korea

Standing on the tee at the 180-yard, par-3 13th hole during the second round of the BMW Ladies Championship on Friday, all Kristen Gillman wanted to do was hit a high shot into the wind and let the ball land softly on the green. It didn't just drop on the green. The ball went into the hole for the American's golfer's first ace ever.And with that hole-in-one, the 22-year-old American LPGA golfer also won a luxury, BMW 7 Series sedan."I was in between my 5- and 4-hybrid, and I was like, 'I'm

GolfOct. 25, 2019

Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin misses out on awards voted by peers

Los Angeles Dodgers' South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has come up short of winning a pair of awards voted by fellow players.The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announced Thursday (US Eastern Time) that Ryu finished second in the National League (NL) Outstanding Pitcher category, behind Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets, as part of MLBPA's Players Choice Awards. Ryu finished third in the NL Comeback Player category, trailing Josh Donaldson of the Atlanta Braves and Sonny Gray o

BaseballOct. 25, 2019

S. Korean weightlifter wins first gold at youth competition in Pyongyang

South Korea's Park Hyeong-o clinched the first gold medal for the country at an Asian youth weightlifting competition in Pyongyang on Wednesday. The 17-year-old finished first in snatch with 132 kg in the men's under-17 73-kilogram event in the 2019 Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championships, which kicked off in the North's capital on Sunday.Park's gold is the first title in six years secured by a South Korean at an international weightlifting competition held in North Korea. In 2013,

SportsOct. 25, 2019