[Tokyo Olympics] Korean table tennis players not fearing China ahead of potential showdown

TOKYO -- By reaching the semifinals of the men's table tennis team event at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, Korea has set up a likely showdown against China, the singular force in international ping pong.    Korea defeated Brazil 3-0 in the quarterfinals earlier in the day at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Though China still had to beat France later in the evening to reach the semifinals, no South Korean player expected to see anyone else but China.    Lee Sang-su sa

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] KBO closer thriving in middle relief for nat'l team

YOKOHAMA -- Lost amid South Korea's offensive outburst in an 11-1 win over Israel in the Tokyo Olympic baseball tournament on Monday was yet another outstanding relief appearance by Cho Sang-woo. The closer for the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has been one of the most valuable middle relievers for the national team. He has pieced together 4 1/3 scoreless innings in three appearances so far, as South Korea heads into the semifinals scheduled for Wednesday. Cho's bigges

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Mixed feelings as S. Korean shuttlers celebrate victory over teammates

TOKYO -- It was a match that nobody won but then everybody won. Two South Korean tandems met for bronze medal in the women's doubles badminton event at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday. Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong defeated Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan 2-0 (21-10, 21-17) for the country's first and only medal out of badminton here. All four players shed tears, though reasons for their emotional displays were vastly different. Kim and Kong were obviously overjoyed, but at the same time, they f

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Once sputtering, S. Korean offense wakes up in time for baseball semifinals

YOKOHAMA, Japan, Aug. 2 (Yonhap) -- For the first four innings against Israel in the second-round game of the Tokyo Olympic baseball tournament Monday, South Korea was experiencing much the same problem that had ailed the team in their three previous games. Granted, South Korea had won two of those games, but at some point, its inability to cash in on one scoring opportunity after another could come back to bite. Would that happen in this game? South Korea took a 3-0 lead early but then Israel

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korea wins bronze in badminton women's doubles

TOKYO -- Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong of South Korea won the bronze medal in the women's doubles badminton event at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, thanks to a victory over their compatriots, Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan. Kim and Kong won the match 2-0 (21-10, 21-17) at Musashino Forest Plaza in Tokyo. The all-Korean bronze medal match was set up after both pairs lost in the semifinals Saturday. This is South Korea's only medal from badminton in Tokyo and also the country's second straight b

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Survey shows football is most popular Olympic sport among S. Korean viewers

Football was the most-watched sport midway through the Tokyo Olympics among South Korean TV viewers, data showed Monday. The group round match of the South Korean men's football team against Romania on July 25 marked a combined 33 percent in viewership, according to Nielson Korea. It was aired simultaneously by three terrestrial TV networks -- KBS, MBC and SBS -- and labeled as the highest-rated Olympic live broadcast program over the Tokyo Olympics that kicked off July 23. The Korea-Romania

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korea takes 3rd seed in group in women's volleyball after loss to Serbia

TOKYO -- South Korea have reached the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympic women's volleyball tournament as the third seed from Pool A, following a straight-set loss to Serbia in the final preliminary match Monday. Serbia handled South Korea 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-15) at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. South Korea finished group play at 3-2 for seven points: three points from a 3-0 win over Kenya, and two points each from 3-2 wins over the Dominican Republic and Japan. It was the five-set thriller over Ja

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Moon congratulates gymnast on Olympic medal

President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory message Monday to a South Korean gymnast for winning a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In a message for Yeo Seo-jeong, Moon noted that she won bronze in the women's vault via a "fantastic performance," based on her mental strength and outstanding skill, the previous day. "It is the first Olympic medal in the history of South Korea's women's gymnastics," he pointed out in the note also posted on his social media accounts. Moon also c

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Women's basketball team hopeful for better future after tight Olympic battles

TOKYO -- Where people saw three straight losses for the South Korean women's basketball team at the Tokyo Olympics, players and coaches saw hope. South Korea closed out its brief Olympic campaign with a 65-61 loss to Serbia in the teams' final Group A game at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, north of Tokyo. South Korea finished last in Group A, behind Spain, Serbia and Canada. Expectations were admittedly not particularly high for South Korea, who came in as the lowest-ranked team in the group

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Baseball star wants to join other 2nd-generation athletes on podium

YOKOHAMA -- First, it was the daughter of a former baseball player winning a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Then came the daughter of an ex-gymnast joining her father as an Olympic medalist. Now, one of South Korea's top baseball players wants a medal for himself, too. Outfielder Lee Jung-hoo helped push himself and his team toward that goal Sunday night, delivering a game-tying double against the Dominican Republic in the ninth inning of a 4-3 victory. Lee later came around to score the winning

Olympic GamesAug. 2, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok makes history in Tokyo

South Korean high jumper Woo Sang-hyeok made history at the Tokyo Olympics Sunday, setting a new national record and achieving the highest ranking in an Olympic track-and-field event for the country. In the finals of men's high jump held at the Olympic Stadium, Woo cleared 2.35m in his first attempt, breaking the Korean record of 2.34m set by Lee Jin-taek in 1997. He also raised his personal best height by 4cm in his Olympic debut. The 25-year old finished 4th after failing to jump the bar at

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Like father, like daughter: gymnast vaults to bronze 25 years after father's silver

TOKYO -- South Korean artistic gymnast Yeo Seo-jeong can proudly call herself an Olympic medalist, but the 19-year-old vaulter isn't even the first one in her family to claim that title. It was a quarter century ago that her father, Yeo Hong-chul, captured silver medal in the men's vault at the Atlanta Olympics. Thanks to Seo-jeong's bronze medal in the women's vault at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, the Yeos are now the first father-daughter duo from South Korea to have won Olympic medals. T

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Koreans finish well off podium in men's golf

SAITAMA -- South Korean players Im Sung-jae and Kim Si-woo both ended well out of medal contention in the Tokyo Olympic men's golf tournament on Sunday. Im shot a bogey-free round of three-under 68 on Sunday at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, north of Tokyo, and finished at 10-under for the four-round competition. He finished tied for 22nd with four others. Xander Schauffele of the United States won the gold medal at 18-under 266. Rory Sabbatini of Slovakia posted a blistering round of 1

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korean golfers inspired by volleyball team's comeback win over Japan

SAITAMA, Japan -- If a quartet of South Korean LPGA stars needed any source of inspiration for the upcoming Olympic women's golf tournament in Japan, they found it from other athletes from the country on Saturday night. Hours after arriving in Tokyo, Park In-bee, Ko Jin-young, Kim Sei-young and Kim Hyo-joo all watched the South Korean women's volleyball team defeat Japan in a five-set thriller. Led by captain Kim Yeon-koung's 30 points, South Korea stormed back from a 14-12 deficit in the fift

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korean archery champions to donate 'Robin Hood' arrows, uniforms to Olympic Museum

TOKYO -- South Korean Olympic archery champions An San and Kim Je-deok will donate their "Robin Hood" arrows and autographed uniforms to the Olympic Museum in Switzerland, the sport's national federation said Sunday. The Korea Archery Association (KAA) said An, a triple gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, and Kim, who won two gold medals, will have arrows from their run to the inaugural mixed team event title exhibited at the museum, run by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) i

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Moon congratulates women's sabre fencers on Olympic medal

President Moon Jae-in sent a congratulatory message to the women's sabre fencing team Sunday for winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The team of four -- Kim Ji-yeon, Yoon Ji-su Choi Soo-yeon and Seo Ji-yeon -- defeated Italy in the bronze medal match Saturday, winning the country's first medal in the women's sabre team event, which made its Olympic debut in 2008. "(The team) gave great joy and courage to the people," he said in the message also shared on social media. "

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Vollyeball star Kim Yeon-koung makes Olympic history in epic victory vs. Japan

TOKYO -- In leading South Korea to a thrilling five-set victory over Japan in the Tokyo Olympic women's volleyball tournament Saturday night, captain Kim Yeon-koung also made history. With 30 points, Kim became the first player to record 30 or more points in an Olympic match four times, according to FIVB, the sport's international governing body. Russia's Ekaterina Gamova is the only other player with multiple 30-point matches with three. Kim was the MVP of the tournament at the 2012 London O

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Primer on baseball tournament: how double elimination works

TOKYO -- By losing to the United States on Saturday night to finish in second place in its group in the Tokyo Olympic baseball tournament, South Korea set itself up for a potentially thorny path to the final. But how? Well, it's complicated. Six teams in the baseball competition here were divided into two groups. In Group A, Japan, the Dominican Republic and Mexico finished 1-2-3. The rankings in Group B went the United States, South Korea and Israel. In the knockout stage, the first three ga

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] Badminton doubles teams to duel for bronze, gymnast looking to vault for gold

TOKYO -- South Korea will enter Monday's action at the Tokyo Olympics with a bronze medal already locked up in the women's doubles event in badminton. It's only a matter of who will take the medal. Two South Korean doubles teams will face each other in the bronze medal match at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza in Tokyo: Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan vs. Kim So-yeong and Kong Hee-yong. They both lost their semifinals matches Saturday to set up the all-Korean duel for third place. It will be the on

Olympic GamesAug. 1, 2021

[Tokyo Olympics] S. Korea wins bronze in women’s sabre team fencing

South Korea claimed bronze in the women’s sabre team fencing event on Saturday for its fourth medal from the sport at the Tokyo Olympics. The team of Kim Ji-yeon, Yoon Ji-su Choi Soo-yeon and Seo Ji-yeon defeated Italy 45-42 in the bronze medal match at Makuhari Messe Hall B in Chiba, east of Tokyo. South Korea rallied from a 25-15 deficit for the dramatic win. This is South Korea’s first medal in the women’s sabre team event, which made its Olympic debut in 2008. This concl

Olympic GamesJuly 31, 2021