S. Korea on track for top-three finish at Universiade

KAZAN, Russia (Yonhap News) ― South Korea is well on its way to achieve a top-three finish at the ongoing multi-sport competition for university athletes in Russia.Through Thursday’s action of the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, South Korea has claimed 12 gold medals and 26 medals overall to stand in second place.Host Russia is running away with the competition, having captured 72 gold medals, more than the total of the next six countries combined, and 135 medals in total.The International Uni

More SportsJuly 12, 2013

Pitcher Lim Chang-yong to join Chicago Cubs’ Class-A affiliate

Korean pitcher Lim Chang-yong, who signed with the Chicago Cubs last year, will soon join the big league club’s Class-A minor league affiliate, his agent said Friday.According to his agent Park Yoo-hyun, Lim, who had been pitching for the Cubs’ Rookie League team since last month while recovering from an elbow operation, will move to Daytona Beach, Florida, on Saturday to join the Daytona Cubs.“He is set to take the mound as a member of the Daytona Cubs,” Park said. “He will try to work himself

BaseballJuly 12, 2013

Ryu emerges as consistent starter

Despite his shaky outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, South Korean pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers ended the first half of his rookie Major League Baseball season as one of the team’s most consistent starters.The 26-year-old left-hander was charged with five earned runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings against Arizona. The five earned runs tied Ryu’s season high. The Dodgers, though, beat the D-backs 7-5 in 14 innings. Asked whether he was exhausted or

BaseballJuly 11, 2013

Korea calls up London Olympic heroes for cup

PAJU (Yonhap News) ― South Korea on Thursday unveiled a men’s national football roster featuring stars from last year’s London Olympics for an upcoming continental tournament it will host.The men’s squad for the July 20-28 East Asian Cup will have 23 players, five of whom helped South Korea win the bronze medal in London last summer.Hong Myung-bo, the national team head coach, served as the bench boss for the Olympic squad last year and guided the country to its first Olympic football medal.Orga

More SportsJuly 11, 2013

Blood, bruises: A day’s work for sprinters

SAINT-MALO, France (AP) ― Hitting the asphalt at something like 60 kilometers per hour flayed off a patch of skin from Tom Veelers’ right thigh. Blood snaked down his leg from his sliced-up right knee. His white jersey was torn and soiled.“Bruised and scratched from all sides,” said the big Dutchman when asked how he felt. “But ... yeah, OK.”In short, Stage 10 was another day at the office for the charging-bull sprinters of the Tour de France.Chris Froome, the race leader, isn’t a sprinter. The

More SportsJuly 10, 2013

Brewers shut out Reds 2-0

MILWAUKEE (AP) ― Wily Peralta didn’t know when he took the mound Tuesday night that the Brewers had taken the field a record 407 straight times between complete games.Milwaukee’s wildly inconsistent right-hander ended that slump, tossing a three-hitter to give Milwaukee a 2-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds for his first career shutout.Peralta’s solid outing was the Brewers’ first complete game since Yovani Gallardo’s two-hit shutout on April 5, 2011 ― a span of 407 games that the Brewers said

BaseballJuly 10, 2013

Reigning MVP Park Byung-ho leads baseball All-Star reserves

Reigning South Korean baseball MVP Park Byung-ho headlined the list of All-Star reserves announced on Wednesday.Park, the slugging first baseman for the Nexen Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization, was among 12 reserves named to the Western League, made up of players from the Heroes, the LG Twins, the Kia Tigers, the Hanwha Eagles and the NC Dinos.The All-Star Game will be held on July 19 in Pohang.Park, 27, won his first career MVP award last year as the KBO leader in home runs, RBIs and sl

BaseballJuly 10, 2013

Coach comments land Ki in hot water in South Korea

English Premier League star Ki Sung-yeung has just discovered what happens when a confident young footballer, social media and a Confucian-influenced culture collide.   Ki, one of Asia's most famous sportsmen, has had a long, nervous wait to see whether his interactions on Facebook would cost him a place with the South Korean national team.The 2009 Young Asian Footballer of the Year is only 24 but has played more than 50 times for South Korea, won the Scottish title with Celtic, the English Leag

SoccerJuly 10, 2013

Korea’s U20 squad proud after valiant run

INCHEON (Yonhap News) ― South Korean men’s U20 football team returned home on Tuesday after making a valiant run at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey.South Korea lost to Iraq 5-4 on penalties in the quarterfinals on Sunday. A victory would have sent South Korea to the final four at the biennial event for the first time since 1983 in Mexico. The U20 players, however, were still lauded for their efforts throughout the tournament and they received a hero’s welcome at Incheon International Airport.“I

SoccerJuly 9, 2013

After Wimbledon win, Murray eyes more Slam titles

LONDON (AP) ― The first question at the first formal news conference of the first full day of Andy Murray’s new life as Wimbledon champion concerned the buzz building in Britain about whether knighthood awaits.Murray sighed and rested his chin on his left hand.“I don’t really know,” he said Monday. “I mean, it’s a nice thing to have, or be offered. I think just because everyone’s waited for such a long, long time for this ― that’s probably why it would be suggested. But I don’t know if it merits

More SportsJuly 9, 2013

McDowell bags French Open

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) ― Tied with Richard Sterne of South Africa in the final round of the French Open, Graeme McDowell didn’t wilt on the back nine.The Northern Irishman made two of his five birdies on the way home to shoot a 4-under 67 Sunday and capture his ninth European Tour title by four strokes.Sterne, by contrast, made three birdies on the front nine before faltering after the turn with three bogeys to hit a 71 and finish runner-up.“Thankfully I’ve managed to learn how t

GolfJuly 8, 2013