South Korea's An wins Thailand Open final

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Badminton women's singles world number two An Se-young smashed home victory at the final of the Thailand Open in Bangkok on Sunday, overcoming China's He Bingjiao. The 21-year-old South Korean came out roaring and was in knock-out form throughout the 21-10, 21-19 straight games victory in the Thai capital. World number five He fought back in the second game -- leading briefly by four points -- which featured some brilliant net play from both players. But she could not

June 4, 2023

Stars lift S. Korea to 2nd place at World Team Trophy in Figure Skating

Behind career-best performances by its two biggest stars, South Korea ranked second after the first day of the International Skating Union (ISU) World Team Trophy in Figure Skating on Thursday. Lee Hae-in, the reigning world silver medalist in the women's singles, won the short program with a personal-best 76.90 points at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo. By finishing first in her discipline, Lee scored 12 ranking points for South Korea. Her previous personal-best score of 73.62 points

April 13, 2023

Cha Jun-hwan wins historic silver at figure skating worlds

Cha Jun-hwan captured a historic silver medal at the figure skating world championships Saturday, becoming the first South Korean man to reach the podium at the annual competition. Cha finished with a new personal-best 296.03 points in the men's singles at the International Skating Union World Figure Skating Championships at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Shoma Uno of Japan won his second straight world title with 301.14 points. Ilia Malinin of the United States finished third with

March 25, 2023

KBO MVP, sage veterans among S. Koreans to watch besides major leaguers

OSAKA -- This may be hard to believe, but there are other players on the South Korean squad for the World Baseball Classic aside from its two major leaguers, Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres and Tommy Edman of the St. Louis Cardinals. The duo have been the headliners for a team on a redemption tour in Japan, after crashing out of the first round in each of the past two iterations in 2013 and 2017, and deservedly so. Edman, born in Michigan to a Korean mother and an American father, is the

March 7, 2023

With two gold medals, short tracker Park Ji-won closes in on World Cup overall title

South Korean short track speed skater Park Ji-won has strengthened his grip on the World Cup overall lead with two more gold medals in Germany over the weekend. Park won the men's 1,500 meters in the fifth stop of the International Skating Union World Cup Short Track Speed Skating in Dresden, Germany, on Sunday (local time). The 26-year-old had won the 1,000m gold medal on Saturday. With the two latest victories, Park improved to 868 points in the World Cup overall standings for the season,

Feb. 6, 2023

Woman’s Sports Association VP tapped to promote diversity in canoeing

A South Korean former athlete and local sports body executive has been named by a global federation of canoe organizations to lead diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity for women. Park Gi-young, vice president of South Korea’s Woman’s Sports Association, was tapped by International Canoe Federation President Thomas Konietzko as the chairman of the Lausanne-based organization’s diversity and inclusion committee as well as the person in charge of the body’s women&rsq

Feb. 1, 2023

S. Korea to demand clarification from top Asian sports body over Russia's Asian Games participation

The South Korean national Olympic body said Wednesday it will seek further clarification from the top Asian sports organization, in light of the latter's decision to allow Russia to compete in the continent's largest multisport event. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee plans to send a formal letter to the Olympic Council of Asia this week demanding answers on how the continental body will operate this year's Asian Games with athletes from Russia and also Belarus on hand. Del

Feb. 1, 2023

Kwon Soon-woo matches career high in world rankings after second ATP title

South Korean tennis player Kwon Soon-woo has matched his career high in the world rankings following a historic ATP Tour victory over the weekend. Kwon soared 32 spots to reach No. 52 in the latest ATP rankings released Monday. Kwon captured the men's singles title at the Adelaide International 2 on Saturday in Adelaide, Australia. He became the first South Korean player with multiple ATP Tour titles. Kwon had also climbed to No. 52 in November 2021, two months after his maiden ATP title at

Jan. 16, 2023

Viktor An seeks to return as coach in Korea

South Korean-born Russian short track speedskating champion Viktor An has applied for a coaching job in Korea for the ice skating team of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, according to local reports on Tuesday. An, previously known as An Hyun-soo, won three gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy as part of the Korean national team, but failed to qualify for the next Olympics after suffering an injury in 2008. He acquired Russian citizenship in 2011 to continue skating in Russia after

Jan. 11, 2023

Six time speed skating medalist Lee Seung-hoon targets 2026 Olympics

At an age when most athletes find themselves on the downslope of their careers, South Korean speed skater Lee Seung-hoon, about two months shy of his 35th birthday, isn't letting up. Even with six medals from four Winter Olympic Games under his belt, Lee is still hungry. And if his recent performances are any indication, Lee remains competitive, too. "My goal moving forward is to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics," Lee said through his agency, IHQ, on Thursday, one day after cap

Dec. 30, 2022

Tough-luck speed skater enjoying string of good fortune

INCHEON-- Lady Luck seems to be finally smiling down on South Korean speed skater Kim Jun-ho this season, after the 27-year-old had suffered some bad fortune on the ice for years. Kim has gone from losing out on medals by fractions of a second to winning them by miniscule margins. Kim opened the International Skating Union World Cup season in November with a bronze medal in the men's 500 meters. He added another bronze in the 500m earlier this month and then claimed his first World Cup ti

Dec. 21, 2022

[Photo News] Pro players mourn Itaewon victims

Professional sports leagues across the country joined the nation in mourning the loss of 154 lives during Saturday night’s deadly crowd surge in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Prior to the kickoff for game 2 of the 2022 Hana Bank FA Cup finals between Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and FC Seoul on Sunday, the players, coaching staff and fans bowed their heads out of respect for victims. The game was won by the eventual champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, who took the cup after a 3-1 victory. Profession

Oct. 31, 2022

Figure skating legend Kim Yu-na releases pre-ceremony photos before exchanging vows

South Korean Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na released her pre-wedding photos on Saturday before tying the knot with a classical singer later in the day. Kim's Seoul-based agency, All That Sports, released the former figure skater's portraits with her groom, Ko Woo-rim. The ceremony was to take place later Saturday in Seoul, open only to family and friends. Kim announced her engagement with Ko, a 27-year-old member of the Korea crossover vocal quartet Forestella, in July. Kim,

Oct. 22, 2022

World No. 5 Zverev withdraws from ATP Korea Open with injury

Reigning Olympic men's tennis champion Alexander Zverev has pulled out of the upcoming ATP Tour event in Seoul with a lingering ankle injury, the tournament organizers announced Thursday. Officials of the Eugene Korea Open said Zverev is still recovering from his ankle injury sustained during his semifinal loss to Rafael Nadal at the French Open in June. Zverev, a two-time ATP Finals winner and the 2021 Olympic men's singles gold medalist, had eyed a return to tour action in the Sout

Sept. 22, 2022

Ex-Grand Slam champions advance to quarterfinals at WTA Korea Open

Two former Grand Slam women's singles champions reached the quarterfinals of the WTA event in Seoul on Thursday, staying on a collision course for a duel in the semis. Emma Raducanu of Britain, the 2021 US Open champion, defeated Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3, 7-5 in the round of 16 at the Hana Bank Korea Open at Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul. In the following match, the top seed Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open winner, squeezed past Anastasia Gasanova of Russia 6-3, 5-7, 7-

Sept. 22, 2022

US Open Cinderella Raducanu bracing for tough road back to relevance

British teen tennis sensation Emma Raducanu readily admits she has not been on a conventional developmental trajectory for an athlete her age. After winning the US Open women's singles title last year as an out-of-nowhere qualifier, the 19-year-old Raducanu has fallen on some hard times, dropping from No. 10 to No. 77 in the world rankings without winning another title. She thinks she's paying the price for capturing that Grand Slam title with little work, but she is not about to shy

Sept. 22, 2022

Grand Slam champions to take court at WTA Korea Open in September

A pair of Grand Slam singles champions will take the court in Seoul for the lone WTA stop in South Korea later this month. The Korea Tennis Association on Saturday unveiled the list of players for the Sept. 19-25 Hana Bank Korea Open, headlined by the 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and the 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko. Raducanu, the Toronto-born British teenager, stunned the tennis world with her U.S. Open title last year as a qualifier. Raducanu, who did not drop a set en r

Sept. 10, 2022

S. Korea stuns handball world with women's youth title

The undersized underdog South Korea has shocked the handball world, capturing the women's youth championship to cap off an undefeated run to the top. South Korea defeated Denmark 31-28 in the final of the International Handball Federation (IHF) Women's Youth World Championship at Boris Trajkovski Sports Center in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday (local time). South Korea became the first Asian team to win the gold medal at this under-18 competition. Coached by Kim Jin-soon, South

Aug. 11, 2022

High jumper Woo Sang-hyeok finishes 2nd in Diamond League, inches toward season ender

South Korean high jumping sensation Woo Sang-hyeok has moved a step closer to a spot in the major season-ending competition, thanks to a runner-up performance in his latest international event. Woo finished second to Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar in the latest Diamond League stop at Stade Louis II in Monaco on Wednesday (local time). The two rivals, with Barshim having edged out Woo for the world title last month, needed a tiebreaking jump-off after finding themselves deadlocked at 2.30 meters. Th

Aug. 11, 2022

S. Korea to host 1st ATP tennis tournament in 26 years

South Korea will host a tournament on the top men's tennis tour for the first time in more than a quarter century this fall. The ATP Tour announced Friday that Seoul will host the Korea Open from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2 at Olympic Park Tennis Center. It will be the tour's first event in South Korea since 1996. The South Korean capital hosted an ATP-level event from 1987 to 1996. The city has since staged only tournaments on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour. The ATP said the Korea Open is

July 22, 2022