[Tokyo Olympics] Ex-UN chief Ban meets Japan's Emperor Naruhito at Olympics: sources

TOKYO -- Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon briefly met with Japanese Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo on the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics, diplomatic sources said Sunday. The encounter took place in the Olympic stadium late Friday following the opening ceremony of the games, the sources familiar with the matter said. In the talks, Ban reportedly congratulated the emperor for the opening of the Olympics and Emperor Naruhito expressed appreciation in return, according to the sourc

July 25, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Shocked taekwondo star rues another missed opportunity

CHIBA -- The third time didn't prove to be the charm for Lee Dae-hoon, the South Korean taekwondo icon who was chasing his first gold in his third Olympic appearance Sunday. That dream ended after the first match, as the top-seeded Lee lost to Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan 21-19 in the round of 16 at the men's 68kg event at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba, east of Tokyo. Rashitov scored his two "golden points" in the extra period, after the two finished three rounds of regulation kno

July 25, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Taekwondo star Lee Dae-hoon stunned in round of 16

CHIBA -- South Korean taekwondo star Lee Dae-hoo suffered a shocking loss in his first match at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, missing out on his third and likely final crack at an Olympic gold. Lee lost to Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan 21-19 in the round of 16 at the men's 68kg event at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba, east of Tokyo. The two practitioners were tied at 19-19 after three rounds, setting up the sudden-death extra period. Rashitov got his two "golden points" with a kick

July 25, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Baseball players escape with minor injuries from tuneup game

Two key players on the left side of the South Korean infield have sustained minor injuries in a recent pre-Olympic tuneup game. Shortstop Oh Ji-hwan received five stitches to his neck after a collision with a base runner during the national baseball team's exhibition game against the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Saturday in Seoul. A KBO official said Oh is fully participating in team practices. Oh was trying to tag out Chae Eun-seong as he slid into the second base bag,

July 25, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Samsung to donate $1,000 per medal won by Team Canada in Tokyo Olympics

  Samsung Electronics Co.'s Canada operations said Sunday it will donate $1,000 for every medal won by Canadian athletes at the Tokyo Summer Games in a promotional event. Samsung Canada plans to deliver up to $25,000 for as many as 25 medal wins to stand by Team Canada athletes during the summer sports games under way amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement.  The funding effort, which will support the Canadian sport system through the Canadian Olympic Foundation

July 25, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Gymnastics' coach heartened by surprise showings in qualification

A pair of South Korean artistic gymnasts have found themselves in surprise contention thanks to strong performances in the qualifying rounds at the Tokyo Olympics. And coach Shin Hyung-ook is so heartened by what he saw from Shin Jea-hwan in the men's vault and Ryu Sung-hyun in the men's floor exercise on Saturday that he believes they can both capture gold medals. Shin Jea-hwan won the men's vault qualifying with 14.866 points from his two attempts. Ryu ranked third among eight finalists in t

July 25, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korean-born taekwondo coach for Thailand wants to look at 'bigger picture'

CHIBA -- Over the past two decades, South Korean-born taekwondo coach Choi Young-seok has transformed Thailand from a fledgling presence to an emerging force at international events. The culmination came Saturday with the country's first Olympic taekwondo gold medal, as Panipak Wongpattanakit won the women's 49kg title at the Tokyo Summer Games. Thailand had previously collected two silvers and three bronzes. And Choi, who has been coaching Thailand since 2002, is undergoing the naturalization

July 25, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Tokyo-born S. Korean judoka chases 1st Olympic medal

TOKYO -- Born in Tokyo to second-generation Japanese-Korean parents, judoka An Chang-rim has been representing South Korea internationally since 2014. The 27-year-old has been gearing up for just this kind of moment: a chance to win his first Olympic medal in none other than Japan, and likely against a Japanese opponent. An will enter the men's 73kg event on Monday at the Tokyo Olympics. And his path to the gold will likely go through the Japanese great and the defending Olympic gold medalist

July 25, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korea captures inaugural gold in archery mixed team event

South Korea claimed the very first Olympic gold medal in archery's mixed team event on Saturday in Tokyo, once again flexing its muscle in the sport it has dominated for decades. The 17-year-old Kim Je-deok and his 20-year-old teammate An San beat Gabriela Schloesser and Steve Wijler of the Netherlands by the set score of 5-3 at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in the Japanese capital. This was also the first gold medal by South Korea at these Olympic Games. Kim and An are the youngest members

July 24, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] South Korean TV network apologizes for offensive Olympic broadcast

SEOUL (AFP) -- A major South Korean broadcaster apologized Saturday for using offensive images and captions to describe participating countries during the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony on Friday night. Coronavirus restrictions meant a stripped back celebration with the traditional delegations of athletes masked and far smaller than usual, ranging from just a handful of people to a few dozen. MBC -- one of the largest national television networks -- used images of the 1986 Chernobyl nucl

July 24, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Veteran shooter Jin Jong-oh eliminated in 10m air pistol

South Korean shooter Jin Jong-oh's bid for a seventh Olympic medal came crashing down on Saturday in Tokyo, as he failed to make it past the qualification stage in the men's 10m air pistol event. Jin ranked 15th with 576 out of a maximum 600 points at Asaka Shooting Range, finishing well outside the top eight eligible for the final. He is the 2012 Olympic champion in this event. In the qualification, shooters each fired 60 shots, 10 per series, with a maximum score of 10 points per shot. Jin

July 24, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] High-ranked S. Korean epee fencers gone after one match

A pair of top-10 fencers from South Korea got knocked out of the Olympic competition after their first matches on Saturday. Choi In-jeong, world No. 2 in women's epee, lost to Aizanat Murtazaeva of the Russian Olympic Committee 15-11 in the round of 32 at Makuhari Messe Hall B in Chiba, east of Tokyo, on Saturday. Also in the round of 32, the eighth-ranked Kang Young-mi fell to Nozomi Sato of Japan 15-14. Song Se-ra was the only South Korean to advance to the round of 16, thanks to her 15-12

July 24, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Rifle shooters falter in bid for S. Korea's first medal

Two young rifle shooters came up short in their bid to bring South Korea its first medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. Kwon Eun-ji and Park Hee-moon occupied the two last places in the women's 10m air rifle final at Asaka Shooting Range in Tokyo on Saturday. This was the first medal event of these Olympic Games. Park, 20, was the first shooter among eight finalists to be eliminated with 119.1 points, and the 18-year-old Kwon was next to go in the following elimination stage at 145

July 24, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Chinese shooter Yang wins first gold of Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO (AFP) -- Ice-cold Chinese shooter Yang Qian claimed the first gold of the Tokyo Games on Saturday, keeping her cool while Russian Anastasiia Galashina lost hers in a dramatic finale. Galashina had looked poised to claim gold heading into the last shot, but stumbled with 8.9 on her final effort to allow Yang to seal victory. Yang looked the picture of serenity as she waited with eyes closed between shots, but she still had to overcome nerves to close out the win with an Olympic record sco

July 24, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Homegrown streaming platforms in race to attract more users by airing Olympics

South Korean video streaming services are eyeing to boost their user base this summer by airing the Tokyo Olympics amid already heated competition. The Tokyo Summer Games, which officially kick off Friday, are available to watch live on multiple streaming platforms here, including Wavve, U+ Mobile TV and AfreecaTV. The Olympics present an opportunity for the homegrown platforms to diversify their watch list and catch up to market leader Netflix Inc. Netflix maintains a strong presence in Sout

July 23, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] With 2 Olympic records, S. Korea throws down gauntlet early in archery

Not that anyone needed more proof of their country's dominance, but South Korean archers broke two Olympic records in the preliminary stage at the Tokyo Summer Games on Friday. An San won the women's ranking rounds with 680 points out of a maximum 720 at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo, breaking a 25-year-old Olympic record by seven points. Archers took 36 arrows in each of the two halves, with a maximum 10 points per arrow. An's two teammates, Jang Min-hee and Kang Chae-young, rounded

July 23, 2021

[Tokyo Olymipics] S. Korean archer An San shoots Olympic record score in ranking round

TOKYO -- South Korean archer An San set an Olympic record to win the women's ranking round of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday, while giving herself a shot at capturing three gold medals in the process. An, 20, scored 680 out of a possible 720 points in the ranking round at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in the Japanese capital. Archers each fired 72 arrows, 36 in each half. An's two teammates rounded out the top three. Jang Min-hee finished second with 677 points, and Kang Chae-young ended with

July 23, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korea going for multiple gold medals right out of the gate in Tokyo

TOKYO -- Every country starts at zero in the medal count at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, the first full day of competition after the opening ceremony. By the end of it, South Korea is hoping it will have a crooked number next to it on the table. South Korea will look to grab a handful of gold medals in archery, fencing, shooting and taekwondo. Having won a record 23 gold medals in Olympic archery competitions, South Korea will seek to add to that total in the inaugural mixed team competitio

July 23, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Tokyo's opening ceremony built on hopes of uniting world during pandemic

TOKYO -- The opening ceremony for the Tokyo Olympics scheduled for Friday evening will be founded on the host nation's hopes of bringing the world together through sport during the coronavirus pandemic. According to details shared by the local organizing committee last week, the concept for the opening ceremony has been titled, "United by Emotion." The organizers noted challenges that people around the world have faced over the past year due to the pandemic and said, "That is wh

July 23, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korea lose to New Zealand to open men’s football tournament

KASHIMA, Japan -- Undone by an unlucky bounce and lack of clinical finish, South Korea lost to New Zealand 1-0 to kick off the men’s football tournament at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday. Burnley striker Chris Wood potted the match‘s lone goal in the second half after a shot attempt went off a defender’s leg and landed on his feet, following a long stretch of South Korea's ball dominance at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium in Kashima, northeast of Tokyo. The loss in the first Gr

July 22, 2021