Japanese judo fans can breathe a sigh of relief: after three days of competition, the country that invented the sport has finally won a gold medal at the London Olympics.Fighting in the women's 57-kilogram division, Kaori Matsumoto defeated Romanian Caprioriu in the final, using footwork to gain an advantage and eventually throw the Romanian for the win.The 57K bronze medals were won by American M

July 31, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― The hiccups outnumbered the highlights, and for a while the U.S. racked up fouls faster than points.The opener wasn’t artistic.However, it was enough ― easily enough.Kevin Durant scored 22 points in his Olympic debut, Kevin Love added 14 and LeBron James had eight assists as the American men’s basketball team overcame some sloppy moments with a 98-71 win Sunday over France.“We know everybody else expects us to win by 40 points,” said Carmelo Anthony. “For us, a win’s a win. We expe

July 30, 2012

LONDON (Yonhap News) ― In the men’s team archery event at the London Olympics, Italy edged the U.S. by one point, 219-218, thanks to a perfect 10 by the final shooter, Michele Frangilli.Although the South Koreans had lost to the Americans and were relegated to the bronze medal match against Mexico, there was still a very distinct Korean flavor among the final four.The top four nations are all coached by South Korean-born men. Oh Seon-tek heads the South Korean men’s team, and that’s really no su

July 30, 2012

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) ― Olympic tennis became deafening Sunday. Under Wimbledon’s roof, the sound of pelting rain nearly drowned out Maria Sharapova’s piercing shrieks.The event moved indoors for the first time since the 1912 Games, and Sharapova made her Olympic debut amid a din, beating Shahar Peer of Israel 6-2, 6-0.“You hear a little bit of it, but it’s not a big distraction,” Sharapova said. “When you see the schedule and you see your name on Centre Court, you know that your match is goin

July 30, 2012

LONDON - China surged clear at the top of the Olympic medals table on Sunday, as two world records fell in the pool on a night when France stunned swimming's superpowers to take a dramatic relay gold.After dominating day one of competition with four gold medals, Chinese athletes hit paydirt once again with wins in shooting for Guo Wenjun and synchronised divers Wu Minxia and He Zi.Guo successfully

July 30, 2012

LONDON - Spain's bid to add Olympic gold to their world and European titles ended in failure on Sunday with a shock 1-0 loss to Honduras.Jerry Bengtson's seventh-minute header at St. James' Park, the striker's third goal in two games, condemned Spain to an early exit following their opening defeat by Group D leaders Japan.In a fractious match featuring 13 bookings, Spain's Iker Muniain hit the pos

July 30, 2012

LONDON -- In the men's team archery event at the London Olympics, Italy edged the U.S. by one point, 219-218, thanks to a perfect 10 by the final shooter, Michele Frangilli.Although the South Koreans had lost to the Americans and were relegated to the bronze medal match against Mexico, there was still a very distinct Korean flavor among the final four.The top four nations are all coached by South

July 30, 2012

LONDON -- South Korea had on Saturday everything a country could possibly have on a single day at an Olympic Games: a feel-good gold medal; a silver medal that almost ever came; and a bronze medal that seemed as disappointing as an Olympic medal could be.Pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh captured South Korea's first gold medal in London in the men's 10-meter air pistol event. It was also the country's fi

July 30, 2012

South Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan on Sunday reached the final of men's 200-meter freestyle, barely 24 hours removed from a ruling debacle surrounding his 400ｍ race.Park finished third among eight qualifiers at 1 minute and 46.02 seconds. Sun Yang of China, the 400ｍ free champion from Saturday, won the heat at 1:45.61, followed by Yannick Agnel of France 0.23 seconds behind.Park was the silv

July 30, 2012

South Korea edged Switzerland 2-1 for its first win in men's football on Sunday at the London Olympics.In the second Group B match at City of Coventry Stadium, Arsenal forward Park Chu-young opened the scoring and Cardiff City winger Kim Bo-kyung broke the second-half tie with a left-foot strike to give his side big three points.South Korea had tied Mexico 0-0 in the opener on Thursday. The victor

July 30, 2012