Competition for Olympic spots on hold for S. Korean LPGA golfers

What promised to be a memorable duel for Olympic spots among South Korean LPGA stars has been put on hold with the announcement that the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games will be delayed to next year. The decision, jointly reached by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo's organizing committee late Tuesday, will resonate on different levels for a handful of South Korean Olympic hopefuls in women's golf. Those who were on a roll to start the season will likely feel frustrated to be stopped

GolfMarch 25, 2020

National volleyball captain Kim Yeon-koung taking Olympic postponement in stride

South Korean volleyball star Kim Yeon-koung had long anticipated that the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics would be postponed, amid the global coronavirus pandemic. But expecting it to happen was one thing; hearing the news of the postponement late Tuesday was something else. Kim admitted she was still caught a bit off guard, but the women's national team captain tried to take it all in stride. "Obviously, because of the virus, it's difficult to live a normal life anywhere in the world,"

Olympic GamesMarch 25, 2020

With season canceled, basketball coaches rue loss of championship duel

With their season canceled on Tuesday due to the coronavirus outbreak, two coaches tied at the top of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) standings were at a loss for words. "I don't know if I should be congratulated for finishing in first place," said DB Promy head coach Lee Sang-beom, whose team ended up with a 28-15 record identical to the SK Knights. "We didn't win a championship after all." Indeed, the KBL, as it announced the cancellation of the remainder of the regul

More SportsMarch 24, 2020

S. Korean baseball season pushed further back to late April

The South Korean baseball league decided Tuesday to postpone the start of the 2020 season even further to late April, with its hope of beginning in the middle of next month dashed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the new season will not begin before April 20, following a three hour-plus meeting with a board of governors, made up of 10 club presidents. The new regular season was slated to begin this Saturday, but the COVID-19 outbreak forced the KBO to de

BaseballMarch 24, 2020

2 baseball clubs halt training over coronavirus concerns

Two South Korean baseball clubs halted their offseason training on Tuesday over coronavirus concerns. The Doosan Bears canceled their practice Tuesday after learning that a player had been in secondary contact with a coronavirus patient. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) team said a family member of the player had come in direct contact with the COVID-19 patient at work, and that relative is awaiting test results. In the meantime, all Doosan players have been asked to self-isolate at hom

BaseballMarch 24, 2020

Men's basketball league cancels season due to coronavirus

The South Korean men's pro basketball season came to an abrupt end on Tuesday, with the coronavirus outbreak forcing a premature finish for the first time in the league's 23-year history. The Korean Basketball League announced Tuesday that the rest of its regular season and playoffs will be scrapped. The largely expected decision was reached during the league's meeting with representatives from its 10 teams. Last Friday, the Women's Korean Basketball League canceled its remaining regular seas

More SportsMarch 24, 2020

Foreign players in S. Korean baseball set to rejoin teams this week

Just a few weeks ago, when Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) clubs were wrapping up their spring training in places like the United States, Japan and Taiwan, their foreign players, most of them Americans, were rushing to return to their home country. South Korea was struggling to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, while the US appeared to be safe. But the tables have since turned, and those players are now on their way to South Korea. The COVID-19 outbreak forced the KBO to cancel i

BaseballMarch 23, 2020

S. Korean Olympic body in wait-and-see mode as IOC, Japan hint at postponing Tokyo 2020

The South Korean national Olympic body is taking a wait-and-see approach in its buildup for the Tokyo Olympics, which may well be postponed due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Following an Executive Board meeting Sunday in Lausanne, Switzerland, the International Olympic Committee said it will step up its "scenario-planning" for Tokyo 2020, with changes to the start date of the competition among the possibilities. The IOC's decision is expected within the next four weeks. The IO

Olympic GamesMarch 23, 2020

KBO team cancels practice after player reports fever

A South Korean baseball club canceled its practice and closed its home stadium on Monday after a player reported a fever. The Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the unidentified player will be tested for the novel coronavirus later in the day, and the rest of the team will be self-isolated in their homes in the meantime. The Giants, based in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, came home from their spring training in Australia last Tuesday. They had three days of

BaseballMarch 23, 2020

Canada says no athletes at Tokyo Games if not postponed

TORONTO (AP) -- The Canadian Olympic Committee says it won't send athletes to the Tokyo Games unless they're postponed for a year, becoming the first country to threaten such a move in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The committee sent out a statement Sunday evening saying it was willing to help the IOC search for alternatives, but that it was not safe for athletes, "their families and the broader Canadian community for athletes to continue training for these Games." &quo

Olympic GamesMarch 23, 2020

Olympic postponement may be 'inevitable', Japan's PM says

TOKYO (AFP) -- Postponing the Olympics over the coronavirus pandemic may become "inevitable", Japan's prime minister conceded Monday, after the International Olympic Committee said a delay was being considered as pressure grows from athletes and sports bodies. The comments from Shinzo Abe were his first acknowledgement that the 2020 Games may not open as scheduled on July 24, as the coronavirus marches across the globe causing unprecedented chaos. Canada's Olympic and Paralympic com

Olympic GamesMarch 23, 2020

Olympic flame gets muted welcome in Japan as Games doubts grow

HIGASHIMATSUSHIMA (AFP) -- The Olympic flame arrived in Japan to a scaled-down welcoming ceremony Friday as doubts grew over whether the Tokyo Games will go ahead on schedule with the coronavirus pandemic causing chaos around the world. As the flame, enclosed in a special lantern, landed on a charter flight, a Japanese Olympic Committee member broke ranks to call for a postponement and Olympics chief Thomas Bach admitted "different scenarios" were under consideration. "Of cours

Olympic GamesMarch 20, 2020

[Newsmaker] Women's pro basketball season canceled due to coronavirus

There will be no more women's pro basketball played in South Korea this spring in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The Women's Korean Basketball League decided on Friday to scrap the rest of the regular season, which had been on hold since March 10, and to also wipe out the playoffs. With all other major professional sports -- men's basketball, baseball, men's football and men's and women's volleyball -- having come to a halt due to COVID-19, the WKBL became the first league to cancel it

More SportsMarch 20, 2020

Volleyball federation delays decision on season suspended amid coronavirus crisis

The national volleyball governing body has put off deciding the fate of the suspended professional season, amid increasing calls for cancellation in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. 　The Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) met with representatives from 13 men‘s and women’s V-League teams on Thursday, and the only agreement that came out of the meetings was that they will meet again soon to reach a conclusion, one way or the other. 　 　The three-plus hours of talks had some team

More SportsMarch 19, 2020

National fencing player tests positive for coronavirus

A national fencing player has tested positive for the novel coronavirus after participating in a competition in Europe, the sport's governing body said Wednesday. The Korean Fencing Federation said it received the COVID-19 test result of the 25-year-old female fencer of the national squad, whose identity is being withheld, early in the day. She returned to South Korea on Sunday after participating in a contest in Hungary. The fencer, who complained of a sore throat during her stay in Hungary,

More SportsMarch 18, 2020

Sick baseball player tests negative for coronavirus

The South Korean baseball league breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday after an ill minor leaguer tested negative for the novel coronavirus. The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said the player, with their Futures League affiliate Goyang Heroes, will remain quarantined in his team dormitory for 14 days. Both Kiwoom and Goyang were forced to suspend all baseball activities on Monday, and will now resume training on Thursday. The player, who remained unidentified, had a fev

BaseballMarch 17, 2020

IOC set for crisis talks as fears grow for Tokyo Olympics

LAUSANNE (AFP) -- The International Olympic Committee will hold high-level talks on Tuesday, as doubts grow over the Tokyo Games and with some in Japan urging officials not to risk lives by pressing ahead during the coronavirus emergency. While countries across Europe have gone into full lockdown after the continent was declared the new epicentre of the deadly virus by the World Health Organization, no decision is expected yet on a possible postponement, or indeed cancellation, of this summer'

Olympic GamesMarch 17, 2020

Minor league baseball player with fever tested for coronavirus, practices canceled

A South Korean minor league baseball player is awaiting the result of his test for the novel coronavirus after reporting to Monday's practice with a fever. The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization said Monday one player with their Futures League affiliate, Goyang Heroes, had a fever of 38.3 C when he was checked before entering the team's practice facility in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, just west of Seoul. The player, whose identity is being withheld, was immediately tested at a nea

BaseballMarch 16, 2020

'Don't sacrifice lives': doubts grow in Japan over Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO (AFP) -- Doubts are growing in Japan about the Tokyo Olympics, with growing opposition to holding them as scheduled and some urging officials not to risk lives by pressing ahead during the coronavirus emergency. Officials like Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach have repeatedly insisted preparations should continue to light the Olympic flame on July 24. But with events from the Premier League to NBA basketball scrapped, and Japanese s

Olympic GamesMarch 16, 2020

Worldwide sports collapse piles pressure on Olympics

TOKYO (AFP) -- The collapse of sports events worldwide over the rapidly spreading new coronavirus heaped pressure on the Tokyo Olympics on Friday as US President Donald Trump suggested delaying the Games by a year. Formula One's Australian Grand Prix and The Players Championship, one of golf's most prestigious events, were the latest to fall in a period when the virus has laid waste to the sporting calendar. Football's Premier League, with a worldwide audience of billions, is also in question

More SportsMarch 13, 2020