Warriors hang on to stay alive, win Game 5 of NBA finals

TORONTO (AP) -- Stephen Curry scored 31 points, Klay Thompson added 26 and they led a season-saving surge that gave the Golden State Warriors a 106-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night in Game 5 of the NBA finals.　 The Splash Brothers combined for three straight 3-pointers in the closing minutes after Toronto had taken a six-point lead with under 3 1/2 minutes remaining in front of a raucous, red-shirted crowd.　 The Warriors lost Kevin Durant barely a quarter after getting him ba

June 12, 2019

World swimming champs not making a splash in S. Korea

Organisers of next month's world swimming championships in South Korea are facing the prospect of half-filled grandstands, figures showed Friday, with only around one-third of tickets sold.A total of 419,000 tickets are available for the FINA World Championships taking place in the southern cities of Gwangju and Yeosu, from July 12-28.But only about 149,000 have been taken up since they went on sale in January, organisers said Friday -- just over 35 percent. Around 140,000 of those were block-bo

June 7, 2019

[Newsmaker] Two-time Olympic speed skating champion Lee Sang-hwa announces retirement

Two-time Olympic speed skating gold medalist Lee Sang-hwa announced her retirement Friday, putting an end to an illustrious career that includes a world record and multiple world championships.In a press release, Lee, 30, said she will have a formal retirement ceremony in Seoul next Thursday.Lee will go down as one of South Korea's greatest winter sport athletes ever and also among the very best speed skaters of her generation.Lee won the gold medal in the women's 500 meters at the 2010 Vancouve

May 10, 2019

[Eye] A day in the life of a Kenyan-born Korean marathoner

CHEONGYANG, South Chungcheong Province -- Deep in the countryside in Cheongyang County, best known for its ultra-spicy chili peppers, an aspiring Olympic marathoner lives in an old hanok residence. Born in Kenya as Wilson Loyanae Erupe and naturalized in South Korea as Oh Joo-han, he runs several kilometers along a branch of the Geum River every morning, aiming for a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. “I like (it) here,” said the 31-year-old athlete, standing in his front yard where clothes

April 19, 2019

S. Korean women's curling posts highest-ever position for Asian team in world rankings

The South Korean women's curling team earned its highest-ever world ranking on Thursday after climbing up to second place.South Korea moved up four spots to finish second with 65.907 points in the latest women's world rankings released by the World Curling Federation. South Korea was behind Sweden, which amassed 81.569 points.  (Yonhap)According to the WCF, this is the highest-ever position for a Pacific-Asia team in women's world rankings that was first introduced in 2006. South Korea grabbed i

March 28, 2019

S. Korean Lim Eun-soo finishes 10th at figure skating worlds

South Korean figure skater Lim Eun-soo finished in 10th place at her first senior world championships on Friday, while competing with an injury sustained in a controversial incident involving an American rival.Lim scored 205.57 points at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan. Lim was fifth after Wednesday's short program with a personal-best 72.91 points and also set a new personal high in the free skate with 132.66 points on Friday.It was the

March 22, 2019

[Newsmaker] US apologizes to S. Korean figure skater after controversial incident

The US figure skating team at the world championships has apologized to injured South Korean skater Lim Eun-soo following a controversial incident involving her American rival.The Korea Skating Union said the US delegation insisted on Thursday that Mariah Bell didn't intend to hurt Lim when they collided during a warmup before Wednesday's short program at the International Skating Union World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan. In this Associated Press photo, Lim Eun-soo of South Kor

March 22, 2019

New nat'l training center chief vows to restore pride, trust for athletes

The new chief of the main national athletic training center vowed on Thursday to restore pride and trust for athletes after a series of assault scandals rocked South Korea's sports community.Shin Chi-yong, a legendary volleyball coach, was officially introduced as the head of the National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, the main training ground for South Korean national team athletes, last month."We're doing our best to restore trust," Shin said to reporters at the Natio

March 14, 2019

S. Korean skeleton slider to compete at world championships with full confidence

South Korean skeleton slider Yun Sung-bin said Thursday that he is ready to show his best at the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation World Championships. Yun, the 2018 Winter Olympics gold medalist in men's skeleton, will compete at the IBSF World Championships in Whistler, Canada, on Friday. He is looking for his first gold at the worlds.(Yonhap)"I've been competing this whole season to race at the worlds," Yun said through his Seoul-based agency. "I'm in my best form right now."After

March 7, 2019

Speed skater stands by harassment allegations against ex-teammate, claims to have evidence

South Korean speed skater Kim Bo-reum said Thursday she stands by allegations of harassment she raised against a former teammate, adding she has materials to back up her claims.Kim was embroiled in a bullying scandal during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics last year, when she was accused of leaving fellow skater Noh Seon-yeong behind on purpose during a team pursuit race. This file photo from Feb. 21, 2018, shows South Korean speed skaters Kim Bo-reum (L) and Noh Seon-yeong at Gangneung Oval in G

Feb. 21, 2019

Olympic curlers endured abuse by coaches, owed prize money: sports ministry

The sports ministry concluded on Thursday that former national women's curlers endured abuse by their coaches and have yet to receive a large sum of prize money from competitions.The ministry announced the findings of its five-week probe, which ran from Nov. 19 to Dec. 21, into allegations raised by members of the Olympic silver medal-winning women's curling team. Collectively dubbed "Team Kim" after the common surname of all members, the curlers won a surprise silver medal at last year's Pyeong

Feb. 21, 2019

Koreas likely to field joint teams in field hockey, rowing, basketball, judo at Tokyo Olympics

South Korea and North Korea are likely to field joint teams in at least four sports at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, with an addition of more sports to the list remaining a possibility, officials said Friday.South Korean sports representatives, led by Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan, are visiting Lausanne, Switzerland, for a tripartite meeting with their North Korean counterparts and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach later Friday. They'll discuss the organization of joint team

Feb. 15, 2019

Host S. Korea blanks Japan at men’s hockey tournament

South Korea shut out Japan 2-0 for its first win at a men’s hockey tournament on home ice Friday.　Defenseman Eric Regan scored midway through the second period, and forward Park Sang-jin netted a short-handed goal in the third for insurance in a well-deserved victory at the Legacy Cup.　The four-nation tournament, which also featured  Kazakhstan and Latvia, was held at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, 230 kilometers east of Seoul, in commemoration of the first anniversary of the PyeongChang

Feb. 8, 2019

Cha Jun-hwan finishes 2nd in short program with personal best at Four Continents

South Korean figure skater Cha Jun-hwan is in second place after the men's short program at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, setting a new personal best with a flawless performance.The 17-year-old scored 97.33 points at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Thursday (local time) and trails Vincent Zhou of the United States by 2.85 points.The competition is open to skaters from Asia, America, Oceania and Europe. (Yonhap)Cha's previous best score in the short program was 90.56 p

Feb. 8, 2019

Host S. Korea falls to Latvia to open men's hockey tournament

South Korea lost to Latvia 6-2 in the opening match of a men's ice hockey tournament at home on Wednesday, after blowing a pair of first-period leads.South Korea is hosting the Legacy Cup at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, 230 kilometers east of Seoul, through Friday. The tournament, which also features Kazakhstan and Japan, celebrates the first anniversary of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Gangneung Hockey Centre was one of two hockey venues during the Olympics and hosted the men's

Feb. 6, 2019

S. Korea national football team returns home after Asian Cup exit

South Korea’s national football team returned home Monday after suffering a quarterfinal exit at a premier continental tournament.　Head coach Paulo Bento and 12 players arrived at Incheon International Airport following their elimination from the 2019 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Ten players, including Tottenham Hotspur‘s Son Heung-min, didn’t travel with the team as they returned to their respective clubs overseas from the Arab nation. (Yonhap)　The Taeguk

Jan. 28, 2019

Unified Korean handball team notches up 1st victory at worlds

The unified Korean men's handball team has earned a historic first victory at the ongoing world championship in Denmark.Korea edged out Japan 27-25 in the 21st-24th place semifinals at the International Handball Federation World Men's Handball Championship at Royal Arena in Copenhagen on Saturday (local time). (Yonhap)The squad of 16 South Koreans and four North Koreans, coached by South Korean Cho Young-shin, was relegated to the ranking round after finishing last in Group A with five straight

Jan. 20, 2019

[Newsmaker] Speed skater accuses ex-teammate of harassment

South Korean speed skater Kim Bo-reum, who was embroiled in a bullying controversy during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, on Friday accused her former teammate of harassment, saying that she was actually the victim of bullying.In an interview with local cable station Channel A, Kim said that she had been bullied by Noh Seon-yeong, who competed together with her and Park Ji-woo in the women's team pursuit competition at the PyeongChang Winter Games. (Yonhap)"I first entered the national tra

Jan. 11, 2019

[Newsmaker] Korea introduces measures to wipe out sexual misconduct in sports

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a set of measures to wipe out sexual assault and abuse in sports following a sex crime case involving an Olympic short track gold medalist.The sports ministry issued an apology and introduced measures to prevent and eliminate sexual misconduct in the country's sports community, one day after Shim Suk-hee's allegations that her former coach Cho Jae-bum had sexually assaulted her for years were revealed. Vice Sports Minister Roh Tae-kang (Yonhap)"We apologize to a

Jan. 9, 2019

Olympic short track champion files compliant against ex-coach over sexual assault

South Korean Olympic short track champion Shim Suk-hee has filed a complaint against her ex-coach over alleged sex assault, police said Tuesday, adding to the allegations of violence by the suspect.Shim accused Cho Jae-beom of raping and sexually molesting her multiple times since 2014 when she was a high school student, according to the complaint submitted to police on Dec. 17. Cho Jae-beom (Yonhap)The 22-year-old Shim said that Cho's alleged sexual abuse continued until around two months befor

Jan. 9, 2019