Gwangju Universiade torch arrives in S. Korea

The torch for the 2015 Summer Universiade has arrived in Seoul, an organizer said Monday, as South Korea prepares to launch a relay across the country for the competition.The torch arrived in Seoul on Sunday after being carried through such French landmarks as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower as well as Taipei, the host of the 2017 Summer Universiade, according to the organizing committee.The torch, lit in Paris, will travel some 3,700 kilometers in South Korea before reaching Gwangju for the ope

More SportsMay 25, 2015

S. Korea to face Japan in opening match of inaugural baseball tournament

South Korea will face its archrival, Japan, to open an inaugural international baseball tournament this fall, officials said Wednesday.  At a press conference held in Seoul jointly with the Korea Baseball Organization, the World Baseball Softball Confederation unveiled groupings for the new 12-nation competition called the Premier 12. The countries were chosen based on their world rankings as of November last year, and the first edition will be played from Nov. 8 to 21 in Chinese Taipei and Japa

BaseballMay 20, 2015

Minjee Lee wins LPGA Tour's Kingsmill Championship

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Minjee Lee shook off a three-putt bogey on her first hole with two finishing pars and won the Kingsmill Championship by two shots Monday, her first victory on the LPGA Tour.Lee, an 18-year-old Australian, finished at 15-under 269. She surged into the lead on Sunday with a round highlighted by a five-hole stretch that she played in 5 under and returned to the Kingsmill Resort's River Course on Monday morning with a four-stroke lead. She three-putted her first hole, the 1

GolfMay 18, 2015

UFC to make S. Korea debut in Nov.

The world's largest mixed martial arts promotion company announced Sunday it will make its South Korea debut later this year.The Ultimate Fighting Championship tweeted that it will head to South Korea for the first time on Nov. 28 with UFC Fight Night. Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul will be the venue.The UFC, which held its first event in 1993, has since bought out and absorbed rivals, including Pride and Strikeforce, to grow into the biggest player in the field. It opened its Asian office in

More SportsMay 17, 2015

Rangers' Choo stretches hitting streak to AL-best 14

South Korean outfielder Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers has now hit safely in 14 straight games, the longest such streak in the American League this year.Choo went 3-for-4 against the Kansas City Royals at home, Globe Life Park in Arlington, for his second three-hit game of the week.He has recorded at least two hits in each of his past five games.Choo currently leads all major leaguers with 12 extra-base hits -- eight doubles and four home runs -- in May. Despite Choo's hot bat, the Rangers l

BaseballMay 15, 2015

Left to train alone, Park Tae-hwan faces murky future

Serving a lengthy doping suspension, Park Tae-hwan has been left to train on his own with his future as murky as ever.The former Olympic swimming champ was slapped in March with an 18-month ban by FINA, the international swimming governing body, after testing positive for testosterone the previous fall.The suspension began retroactively on Sept. 3, 2014, when FINA collected Park's samples, and is set to end on March 2, 2016.It marked a low point in the otherwise decorated career of the 25-year-o

Olympic GamesMay 14, 2015

Olympic skating champs named honorary ambassadors for PyeongChang 2018

Three South Korean Olympic skating champions were named honorary ambassadors for the 2018 Winter Olympics on their home ice Thursday.The organizing committee for the PyeongChang Winter Games unveiled speed skaters Lee Seung-hoon, Mo Tae-bum and Park Seung-hi as new goodwill ambassadors for the first-ever Winter Olympics in South Korea.They will be formally introduced Saturday during the celebrations of the 1,000-day countdown to the Olympics.The organizers said they expect the three to drive up

Olympic GamesMay 14, 2015

Former FIFA VP Temarii banned 8 years for taking money

ZURICH (AP) – FIFA has banned former vice president Reynald Temarii for eight years for taking Qatari powerbroker Mohamed bin Hammam's money to pay legal costs in a corruption case linked to the 2022 World Cup vote.FIFA says its ethics committee ruled that Temarii accepting 305,640 euros ($343,000) from Bin Hammam in January 2011, breaching five sections of its ethics code.Temarii was then appealing a one-year suspension by FIFA which barred him from voting in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup contest

SoccerMay 13, 2015

Host eyes top-three finish at Summer Universiade in Gwangju

As the clock ticks down on the major international multisport competition for university athletes in South Korea this summer, the host country counts on Olympic medalists for strong performances.The countdown will reach 50 on Thursday for the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, a metropolitan city located some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. The competition will go on from July 3 to 14. Gwangju is the third South Korean host of the Universiade, after Muju and Jeonju, both in North Jeolla Province

Olympic GamesMay 13, 2015

1,000-day countdown to 2018 PyeongChang Olympics

Special festivities over the coming weekend will celebrate the 1,000-day countdown to the 2018 Winter Olympics in the eastern South Korean town of PyeongChang.The organizing committee for the Olympics announced Monday that celebrations will take place Saturday in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul in Gangwon Province, and other neighboring venue towns, and also in the nation's capital. South Korea has never before hosted a Winter Olympics.The organizers will put on the "Happy PyeongC

Olympic GamesMay 11, 2015

Slugger Lee Dae-ho hits 300th career home run

Slugger Lee Dae-ho, playing for the Softbank Hawks in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), hit his 300th career home run on Friday to become the second South Korean baseball player to achieve the honor in two leagues.Starting as the designated hitter at a home game against the Rakuten Eagles at Yahoo Auctions Dome in Fukuoka, Lee slammed a solo homer off starter Kenny Ray in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1. It was also his eighth homer of the season. Lee, 32, hit 22

BaseballMay 8, 2015

Jeonbuk clinches AFC Champions League knockout berth with win

South Korean football club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors clinched a knockout berth at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League with a huge victory at home Wednesday.   Thanks to a 4-1 win over Shandong Luneng at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Jeonbuk finished second in Group E with 11 points. Jeonbuk joins three other K League Classic sides in the round of 16. The top South Korean league last put four teams in the knockout stage in 2010.   Earlier Wednesday, S

SportsMay 6, 2015

World No. 2 Park In-bee earns LPGA win in Texas

World No. 2 Park In-bee captured her 14th career LPGA Tour victory on Sunday in Texas.Park claimed the Volunteers of America North Texas Shootout in Irving, Texas, for her second win of 2015. She shot a four-round total of 15-under 269 to beat fellow South Korean Park Hee-young and American Cristie Kerr by three strokes at Las Colinas Country Club. Park In-bee, who shot a bogey-free final round of six-under 65, joins South Korean rookie sensation Kim Sei-young and world No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zea

GolfMay 4, 2015

NHL playoff capsules

Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and two assists, and Alex Ovechkin scored once, leading the Washington Capitals and fill-in goalie Philipp Grubauer past the New York Islanders 4-3 Friday night to even their first-round playoff series at a game each. After Washington's two stars - Ovechkin led the NHL in goals, Backstrom was No. 1 in assists - were reunited on the top line, both scored to erase a 3-1 deficit. Jason Chimera netted the go-ahead goal with 12 1/2 minutes left. It was the first time the

More SportsApril 18, 2015

S. Koreans struggle to move up leaderboard at Masters

The two South Koreans left standing at the Masters struggled to move up the leaderboard at the first major championship of the men's golf season on Saturday.   Noh Seung-yul and Bae Sang-moon both shot an even-par round of 72 at Augusta National Golf Club. Noh, playing in his first Masters, started his day with a double bogey before making three birdies against one bogey, and is sitting at even par for the tournament, good for a six-way tie for 30th.   Bae, playing at Augusta for the third time,

GolfApril 12, 2015

Head of S. Korean university sports body named chief delegate for Universiade

The head of South Korea's university sports federation on Friday was named the country's chief delegate for the upcoming international athletic competition for university athletes to be held here.The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) announced that You Byong-jin, president of the Korea University Sports Board, will be the head of the South Korean delegation at the 2015 Summer Universiade, which will open on July 3 in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul.You, also president of Myongji University i

Olympic GamesApril 10, 2015