Diminutive fencer aims high at Asian Games

In the past, fencers used to look down on their South Korean foe Song Se-ra, not only figuratively but literally as well. Song is listed at 164 centimeters, tiny by fencing standards. Song, world No. 5 in women's epee, gives 21 cm to the top-ranked Marie-Florence Candassamy of France. Song is the shortest one among the top-10 female epee fencers in the world today. However, at the 2022 World Fencing Championships in Cairo, no one stood taller than Song. She won gold medals in both the indiv

More SportsAug. 25, 2023

Teen table tennis player determined to push herself to limits in Asiad debut

For South Korean table tennis player Shin Yu-bin, suffering a wrist injury toward the end of 2021 might have seemed like a career-derailing event at the time. Nearly two years later, Shin is gearing up for her first Asian Games, having been able to use the time on the sidelines wisely to work on different elements of her game. The 19-year-old now believes it will serve her well at the Asiad in Hangzou, China, starting next month. Shin, one of South Korea's rising stars in ping pong, suffere

More SportsAug. 25, 2023

Tom Kim 5 back of 1st round lead at Tour Championship

South Korean golfer Tom Kim sits five strokes off the lead after the opening round of the PGA Tour's final playoff event. Kim shot a three-under 67 to begin the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on Thursday. He is tied for 14th place in the exclusive field of 30 players. Kim qualified for the playoff finale by ranking inside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings after two playoff events. As No. 16, Kim started the Tour Championship at two-under in the "starting stroke

GolfAug. 25, 2023

Asiad-bound taekwondo practitioners fueled by failures

Jang Jun and Lee Da-bin, two South Korean taekwondo medal hopefuls at the upcoming Asian Games in China, both want to use their recent slip-ups as fuel. Lee, 26, will be going for her third consecutive Asian Games gold medal in Hangzhou next month. Her first gold came in the lightweight (62 kilograms) event in 2014, but she moved up to heavyweight (+67kg) under the revised weight divisions in 2018 and won gold there too. She will be the defending champion in the heavyweight class in September. &

More SportsAug. 25, 2023

By missing podium at worlds, high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok hits speed bump in trailblazing career

That a top-six finish at the World Athletics Championships can be seen as a disappointment for Woo Sang-hyeok indicates just how far the South Korean high jumper has come. It wasn't that long ago when the goal for any Korean high jumper competing at a worlds was to make it out of the preliminary phase and qualify for the final. Woo then raised the figurative bar high by winning silver at last year's World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. South Korea, a country long without an

More SportsAug. 23, 2023

3 S. Korean players looking to strike it rich at final PGA Tour playoff event

A trio of South Korean players will be among the last 30 left standing as the PGA Tour's annual playoffs draw to a conclusion this week. Tom Kim, Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo all ranked inside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings after the end of the second playoff event, the BMW Championship, on Sunday in Olympia Fields, Illinois, and earned themselves a ticket to the Tour Championship, which tees off Thursday in Atlanta. There will be no cut in the exclusive-field event at East Lake Golf C

GolfAug. 22, 2023

Klinsmann proud of Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae as 'ambassadors of Korean football'

South Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is now linked to his two best players on the men's national football team in more ways than one. Klinsmann, one of the world's premier strikers in the 1990s, spent the latter part of his club career with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and Bayern Munich in his native Germany. Those two clubs now employ two South Korean stars. Longtime South Korea captain Son Heung-min was given Tottenham's armband before the start of the 2023-24 seas

SoccerAug. 21, 2023

Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin wins 2nd straight start, extends unearned run streak to 14 innings

Toronto Blue Jays starter Ryu Hyun-jin has won his second straight start while increasing his stretch of not giving up an earned run to 14 innings. Ryu gave up two runs, both unearned, on four hits in five innings against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Sunday (local time), helping the Blue Jays to a 10-3 victory. Ryu struck out a season-high seven batters and walked just one. The South Korean left-hander improved to 2-1 for the season and lowered his ERA from 2.

BaseballAug. 21, 2023

Spain defeat England in final of record-breaking Women's World Cup

SYDNEY (Reuters) -- Spain defeated England 1-0 in the final of the Women's World Cup on Sunday, capping off a tournament that has broken attendance and TV records and raised hopes of a surge in interest for the women's game. Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the ninth edition of the global showpiece event was the first to be held in the southern hemisphere. While local interest ebbed when Australia exited in the semi-finals, just shy of two million fans will have passed through t

SoccerAug. 20, 2023

Faker to advance to 2023 LoL World Championship

After a hard-fought 3-2 victory over KT Rolster in the semifinal of the League of Legends Champions Korea Summer on Saturday, esports giant T1 have secure their spot not only in the finals, but also at this year’s LoL World Championship. As Gen.G and T1 made one-two finishes in both spring and summer seasons, the two teams will be automatically qualified for LoL World Championship with the most championship points regardless of their performances in the upcoming 2023 LCK Summer finals. The

More SportsAug. 20, 2023

High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok goes for 1st world outdoor title in Hungary

South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok will begin his quest for a historic gold medal at the world championships in Hungary this weekend. The qualification for the men's high jump at the World Athletics Championships is set for 10:35 a.m. Sunday in Budapest, or 5:35 p.m. Sunday. The final is scheduled for 7:58 p.m. Tuesday in the Hungarian capital, or 2:58 a.m. Wednesday. Woo is the reigning world silver medalist, having finished behind Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar in Eugene, Oregon, last y

More SportsAug. 18, 2023

Im Sung-jae 3 off 1st-round lead at 2nd leg of PGA Tour playoffs

South Korea's Im Sung-jae finds himself three strokes off the first-round lead at the second leg of the lucrative PGA Tour playoffs. Im shot a two-under 68 to open the BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club's North Course in Olympia Fields, Illinois, on Thursday (local time). Im, who had three birdies and one bogey, is tied for 12th place with five others. Rory McIlroy and Brian Harman, a pair of major champions, share the opening round lead at five-under par. Im is one of fou

GolfAug. 18, 2023

Police drop defamation case involving football star Ki Sung-yueng

Police have closed the defamation case filed by football star Ki Sung-yueng against two former teammates who alleged they were sexually assaulted by him, officials said Thursday. The Seocho Police Station in southern Seoul decided last Thursday not to refer them to the prosecution, citing a lack of evidence, they said. The investigators also concluded there is insufficient evidence to support the allegations of sexual violence they made against Ki, a midfielder of FC Seoul in the K League 1. I

SoccerAug. 17, 2023

4 S. Koreans stay alive in PGA Tour playoff

All four South Korean players who have qualified for the PGA Tour playoff are still alive with one tournament in the books. Im Sung-jae, Tom Kim, Kim Si-woo and An Byeong-hun all ranked inside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings following the conclusion of the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis on Sunday. The top 70 in FedEx Cup points after the end of the regular season made it to the Memphis tournament, and now the top 50 will move on to the BMW Championship, which will tee off Thursday

GolfAug. 14, 2023

Former LPGA star inspired by younger golfers

At this rate, Shin Ji-yai may be tempted to move back to the LPGA Tour. Shin, former world No. 1 in women's golf now playing full time in Japan, finished in third place at the AIG Women's Open in England on Sunday. It was her second top-three performance at an LPGA major this year, following a runner-up finish at the US Women's Open in July. Shin carded a two-under 70 in the final round at Walton Heath Golf Club and ended at seven-under 281, seven behind the champion, Lilia Vu of

GolfAug. 14, 2023

Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin earns 1st win of season

For the first time in 15 months, Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has picked up a win. Ryu gave up two runs on two hits against the Chicago Cubs at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Sunday, helping them to an 11-4 victory in his third start back from Tommy John surgery. Both of the Cubs' runs against Ryu were unearned, as they were scored after an error by first baseman Brandon Belt in the first inning. Ryu struck out three and walked two while lowering his ERA from 4.00 to 2.57 fo

BaseballAug. 14, 2023

S. Korean Kim Hyo-joo 1 shot off lead at LPGA season's final major

South Korean player Kim Hyo-joo is one stroke off the lead heading into the final round of the last LPGA major of 2023. Kim shot a four-under 68 in the third round of the AIG Women's Open in Surrey, England, on Saturday, to reach eight-under for the tournament. She is one shot back of the co-leaders, Lilia Vu of the United States and Charley Hull of England, with 18 holes to play at Walton Heath Golf Club. Kim, 28, is going for her second career major, after winning the 2014 Evian Champions

GolfAug. 13, 2023

Son Heung-min named Tottenham's captain

Son Heung-min has been named the captain of Tottenham Hotspur. The Premier League club made the announcement on their website Saturday (London time), as Son, 31, takes over from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who had first captained Spurs in the 2014-2015 season and then was named the skipper for the start of the 2015-2016 campaign. Son began his Spurs tenure in that same season after arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. Sonny, as he's affectionately called, won the Premier League Golden Boo

SoccerAug. 13, 2023

Padres' Kim Ha-seong extends hitting streak to 16 games

Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres has pushed his hitting streak to 16 games with a two-hit effort. Kim batted 2-for-5 with an RBI to help the Padres defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-5 at Chase Field in Phoenix on Friday (local time). Kim raised his batting average to .290, tied for the sixth-highest mark in the National League. Kim's 16-game run is the longest active hitting streak in Major League Baseball (MLB). Batting leadoff, Kim popped out in the first, grounded out in the third

BaseballAug. 12, 2023

S. Koreans fall off pace at final LPGA major of season

South Korean players find themselves way out of contention at the midway point of the final LPGA major of 2023, under way in England. Kim Hyo-joo is the top South Korean at the AIG Women's Open through 36 holes, as she's tied for fifth place at four-under after her second consecutive round of two-under 70 at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England, on Friday (local time). Kim is six strokes behind the leader, Ally Ewing of the United States, who fired a blistering 66 with seven birdi

GolfAug. 12, 2023