PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The chiefs of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics athletes' villages said Wednesday they are ready to welcome participants in the quadrennial multi-sports event and help them stay comfortable. Ryu Seung-min, a former Olympic gold medalist in table tennis, is at the helm of the main Olympic Village at PyeongChang, where athletes in snow events like alpine skiing will resid...

INCHEON, South Korea -- International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach arrived in South Korea on Tuesday to inspect preparations for next month's PyeongChang Winter Olympics. "It's a great pleasure to finally arrive in Korea. I look forward to the Winter Olympic Games with great anticipation," Bach told reporters upon arriving at Incheon International Airport. He will later take the new K...

South Korea‘s alpine snowboarders and mogul skiers will stay outside the athletes’ residence in PyeongChang during the Winter Games, an official from the national skiing governing body said Monday. South Korea will have 31 athletes competing in snow sports. Of them, five alpine snowboarders taking part in parallel giant slalom events and the freestyle skiers in moguls will not enter the Olympic...

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- For spectators attending the PyeongChang Olympic Games next month, going to sporting events will only be part of the fun. Several participating nations will run Olympic hospitality houses during the Feb. 9-25 competition. Run by national Olympic committees or corporate sponsors, these hospitality houses will promote countries' cultures and specialty foods. The houses...

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea -- The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games will be the largest Winter Olympics in history, organizers said Monday. PyeongChang's organizing committee said 2,925 athletes from 92 countries had confirmed their participation in the Feb. 9-25 competition by the 6 a.m. deadline on Monday. The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics had been the largest with 2,858 athletes from 88 nations. (Yon...

Australian Open semifinalist Chung Hyeon became Korea's highest-ranked tennis player Monday after he cracked the top 30. Chung jumped from 58th to 29th in the latest men's singles rankings released by the Association of Tennis Professionals after earning 720 ranking points for his historic semifinals run at the season's first Grand Slam event. Lee Hyung-taik, who is retired, previously held the...

South Korean figure skater Lee June-hyoung ranked 14th out of 24 at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Taipei on Saturday. Lee scored 211.86 points overall to lead the South Korean contingent at the annual competition. Lee had 69.93 points in the short program and added 141.93 points in his free skate. He topped 200 points for only the second time in his senior career, which beg...

South Korean figure skater Choi Da-in earned her best score of the season at an Olympic tune-up competition on Friday. Choi earned her season-best 190.23 points overall to finish fourth at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Taipei. She scored 127.93 points in Friday's free skate, good for third in the segment, after ranking fifth after the short program with 62.30 points. Choi ...

North Korea's figure skating pairs team of Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik won the bronze medal Friday at the last-minute international rehearsal before the next month's PyeongChang Winter Olympics. At the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, held in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, the duo earned a personal-best total of 184.98 points to finish third. The U.S. team of Tarah Kayne and Danny ...

MELBOURNE -- Roger Federer hailed Chung Hyeon as a future top 10 player Friday after the South Korean's Australian Open came to a painful end at the hands of the Swiss maestro. The defending champion was leading 6-1, 5-2 and in full control when Chung retired with foot blisters, bringing the curtain down on a breakout tournament in which he announced himself as a future star in the making. The ...

South Korean tennis sensation Chung Hyeon bowed out to Roger Federer in the Australian Open semifinals Friday, ending a historic run that has captivated a nation hungry for new sporting heroes. The 58th-ranked Chung withdrew against the second-ranked Federer with blisters on his left foot, when the score was 6-1, 5-2 in favor of the Swiss great. Chung was the lowest-ranked man to make the Austr...

South Korean alpine snowboarder Lee Sang-ho has a nickname that he can't shake off till this day. Lee first started snowboarding at a sledding slope that was previously a cabbage patch. After he established himself in the snowboarding scene, "Napa Cabbage Boy" became his nickname. Coincidently, PyeongChang, the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics, is also known for fresh cabbages. With its co...

South Korean bobsleigh pilot Won Yun-jong said Wednesday he feels confident that he can achieve good results at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Won will partner with brakeman Seo Young-woo to compete in the two-man bobsleigh event at the PyeongChang Olympic Games next month. The tandem is considered one the medal hopes for South Korea in sliding sports. “I‘ve prepared for the PyeongChang Olympi...

MELBOURNE (AFP) - World number one Rafael Nadal faces three weeks out after being diagnosed with a torn inner hip muscle during his Australian Open quarter-final defeat, his management said Wednesday. The 16-time Grand Slam champion had a scan in a Melbourne hospital after he retired early in the fifth set of his match with Croatia's Marin Cilic on Tuesday. "The MRI (scan) showed a grade one in...

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) _ Hyeon Chung has reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time, following up his upset victory over six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round with a 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3 win Wednesday over Tennys Sandgren. The No. 58-ranked Chung is the first Korean player to reach the last four of a major, and the lowest-ranked man to reach the Aus...