Boxer-actress Lee talks on ‘biased judgment’ controversy

Actress and boxer Lee Si-young said that the heated debate on the legitimacy of her victory in the national boxing team tryout has helped her to focus on training. 　“First of all, both the opponent and I did our best,” said Lee during an interview with KBS2‘s showbiz program “Entertainment Weekly” on Saturday.Lee was at the center of dispute about the fairness of the final judgment when she won 22-20 against Kim Da-som in the national boxing team tryout for the 48-kilogram class. Many commented

More SportsJune 9, 2013

Son wins golds in hoop, clubs at Asian Gymnastics Championships

South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae on Saturday won two gold medals in women's hoop and clubs at the Asian Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, grabbing a total of three gold medals in the four-day event. Son finished first with 18.433 points in the women's hoop final, outperforming Deng Senyue of China who finished with 18.067, according to Asian Gymnastics Union. The 19-year-old clinched another gold in the women's clubs with 18.400 points, and scored a silver meda

More SportsJune 7, 2013

Living on the edge

As the airplane took off, Hong Hyun-sook, a middle-aged skydiving student, had butterflies in her stomach. She reminded herself of her instructions and checked her equipment over and over again.Finally, the door opened and she became more nervous. She had brief second thoughts, asking herself, “Why am I doing this?”Moving up to the door to jump, she gave in, telling herself she had no choice. Then she hurled herself into the sky with her eyes clamped shut.“At that moment, I didn’t think,” Hong r

More SportsJune 7, 2013

‘Skateboarding not a sport but a lifestyle and part of me’

Choi Jae-seung is a household name among skateboarders. The 22-year-old’s mind-boggling tricks and perseverance caught the attention of many skateboard aficionados on YouTube in 2009. As the first Korean rider to be sponsored by Austrian drink company Red Bull, Choi wants to help popularize skateboarding in Korea.“Compared to the United States, skateboarding is less common in Korea. The idea that one can be a professional boarder is still new here,” Choi said in an interview with The Korea Heral

More SportsJune 7, 2013

Riding the waves

Choi Chang-rok eagerly waits for each summer so he can take his jet ski and go wakeboarding at a nearby barge. “At first, snowboarding was my favorite hobby. But the problem is you can only snowboard in the winter. I started to look for an alternative hobby I could enjoy doing in the summer, and found wakeboarding,” Choi told The Korea Herald. He has been an avid wake boarder for the past two years. In wakeboarding, a rider is towed by a motorboat. The rider uses the wake created by the boat to

More SportsJune 7, 2013

Touching the sky

Instructor Lee Dae-ho first skydived in 2004, when he was serving as an officer in a special forces unit. It took him just one jump to realize that nothing made him feel as free as when he jumps out of a plane at 13,000 feet.“Since then, skydiving has become my passion,” the 34-year-old skydiver told The Korea Herald. After he was discharged from service last year, he became an instructor to continue his favorite activity.At Seoul Skydiving School, he meets many students who share the same passi

More SportsJune 7, 2013

Gatlin edges Bolt by 0.01 seconds

ROME (AP) ― Justin Gatlin beat Usain Bolt by one-hundredth of a second Thursday to win the 100 meters at the Golden Gala meet ― the Jamaican’s first significant loss since his false-start disqualification at the 2011 world championships in South Korea. Gatlin was timed in 9.94 seconds and was restrained in his celebration, just clapping his hands rapidly. The American has won all five of his 100-meter races this year and is shaping up as a serious threat to Bolt at the world championships in Mos

More SportsJune 7, 2013

Korea resolves to be successful at next two Winter Olympics

Top South Korean winter sports officials and athletes Friday reaffirmed their resolve to be successful at the next two Winter Games, announcing steps to improve training environments and introduce scientific approach to Olympic preparations.About 150 officials and athletes descended on the National Training Center in Seoul for an event to declare their goals for successful Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in 2014 and then in PyeongChang, a South Korean alpine town, in 2018.Yoo Jin-ryong, minist

More SportsJune 7, 2013

Lefty tuning up for U.S. Open

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) ― Phil Mickelson is playing the week before the U.S. Open to make sure his game is sharp as possible, particularly after not playing very well at the Masters after taking off before that major.“I know that for me to be sharp mentally especially into a tournament where the penalty for missing is so great like the U.S. Open, it’s important that I’m sharp and I’m ready to play,” Mickelson said Wednesday after finishing a practice round.He’s got plenty of company at the St. J

GolfJune 6, 2013

Back in NBA Finals, James can get back at Spurs

MIAMI (AP) ― Before reaching the top of basketball, LeBron James was run over by the San Antonio Spurs.The Spurs swept James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007 NBA Finals, so long ago that the winning game plan focused on exploiting James’ weaknesses. Those are nearly impossible to find now, and James essentially warned the Spurs that they shouldn’t bother looking.The Spurs already know.“He’ll be a lot more of a problem than he was in ’07, that’s for sure,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Wednesda

More SportsJune 6, 2013

Marlins get swept this time, lose to Phillies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― With the old Cole Hamels and the new Domonic Brown leading the way, the Philadelphia Phillies are .500 again.Now, they’re looking to push forward.Hamels had a season-high 11 strikeouts in seven dominant innings, Brown hit another homer and the Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 6-1 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep and even their record for the first time since they were 6-6.“Getting back to .500 is key to starting over,” Hamels said. “We want to keep the same approach

BaseballJune 6, 2013

Korean relief pitcher grabs MLB‘s attention

Oh Seung-hwan, a relief pitcher for the Samsung Lions of South Korea’s top professional baseball league, is garnering attention from U.S. pro baseball clubs.Several Major League Baseball scouts attended the Lions game against the Nexen Heroes at Seoul’s Mokdong Stadium on Wednesday, reportedly to watch Oh play. The game ended in a draw after 12 innings.Oh made a strong impression in front of the scouts, appearing at the bottom of the 11th inning to shut out four batters, striking out one without

BaseballJune 6, 2013