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No mandatory coronavirus vaccine for Tokyo Olympics, says IOC chief

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, front, wears a face mask as he visits the National Stadium, the main venue for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games postponed until July 2021 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Tokyo, Nov. 17.   AFP-YonhapAthletes won't be required to take a coronavirus vaccine to compete at the Tokyo Olympics, IOC chief Thomas Bach said Tuesday, adding that mandatory shots would be "going too far."Bach, who is in Tokyo to bolster confidence in the pandemic-postponed event, said taking a vaccine would be a "free decision" for athletes and others involved in the Games."There are too many issues to consider. This is a question of private health," the International Olympic Committee president said, during a tour of the Olympic Village."It is a question also of (the) health conditions of each and every person. It's a question of availability."However, the IOC will "appeal" to athletes and others to be vaccinated, Bach added, calling it a "sign of respect" for other competitors and the Japanese hosts.Tokyo 2020 was put back

Nov 17, 2020
No mandatory coronavirus vaccine for Tokyo Olympics, says IOC chief
Sports

Baseball crowd to be reduced under tighter social distancing rules

Doosan Bears players on Nov. 13 wave at audience in Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul's Guro District where Bears won KT Wiz 2-0 in their fourth match of 2020 KBO Post Season Playoff. YonhapWith the announcement on Tuesday that the social distancing rules will be tightened in the greater Seoul area due to a spike in new coronavirus cases, the size of the crowd in the baseball championship series will be reduced starting this week.The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) had been admitting crowds at 50 percent of the stadium capacity during the ongoing postseason. But as the social distancing scheme moves from Level 1 to Level 1.5 in the new five-tier system effective Thursday, crowds for all games played after that must be limited to 30 percent of the capacity.The Korean Series, the KBO's championship round, will begin later Tuesday, pitting the NC Dinos against the Doosan Bears. All games of the best-of-seven series will be played at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. Game 2 is Wednesday evening, and the new rule will affect Friday's Game 3 and beyond.The dome has been accepting a crowd of up to 8,200

Nov 17, 2020
Baseball crowd to be reduced under tighter social distancing rules
Sports

IOC's Bach 'very confident' fans will be able to attend Tokyo Games

International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach wearing a face mask speaks to the media after his meeting with Japan's prime minister in Tokyo on Nov. 16, 2020. AFPInternational Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach said Monday he is now "very, very confident" that spectators will be able to attend next year's Tokyo Olympics, as he kicked off a visit aimed at boosting momentum for the pandemic-postponed Games.Spiralling infections and new lockdowns around the world have renewed scepticism that the massive international event will be possible if the pandemic is not under control by opening day, now scheduled for July 23, 2021.But organisers and Japanese officials have insisted that they can hold the event, and are drawing up a raft of coronavirus countermeasures intended to make the Games safe even if the pandemic is not over."We are putting really a huge tool box together in which we will put all the different measures we can imagine," Bach said, after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for talks that began with the two masked men fist-bumping for the cameras."Next year..

Nov 16, 2020
IOC's Bach 'very confident' fans will be able to attend Tokyo Games
Sports

Im Sung-jae ties for 2nd at Masters

Im Sung-jae watches his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, in Augusta, Ga. APSouth Korean rising star Im Sung-jae has fallen short of winning his first Masters but still made history at Augusta National Golf Club.Im tied for second with Cameron Smith of Australia at 15-under, five strokes behind the champion Dustin Johnson, who finished with a record 20-under 268. Johnson carded a 68 while Im and Smith each scored a 69 at the famed Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia, on Sunday (local time). Im had five birdies and two bogeys.Im's showing was the best performance by an Asian golfer, surpassing the third-place finish in 2004 by the fellow South Korean Choi Kyoung-ju. This was Im's Masters debut."Since this was my first Masters, my goal was just to make the cut," said Im, the 2018-2019 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year. "But I think I gained some confidence after staying in contention through the first two rounds. I'll remember this day for a long time."Im, 22, played in the final group with Johnson and Abraham Ancer o

Nov 16, 2020
Im Sung-jae ties for 2nd at Masters
Sports

Korea lose to Mexico in football friendly marred by COVID-19 outbreak

Mexico's striker Raul Jimenez, second from right, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side's 1-1 equalizer against South Korea during the friendly match at the Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, Saturday. / Courtesy of KFASouth Korea dropped to Mexico 3-2 in a men's football friendly match played under the cloud of a coronavirus outbreak within the Korean team.The 38th-ranked South Korea conceded three goals in a three-minute span against world No. 11 in the second half at Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, on Saturday (local time), frittering away a 1-0 lead built by forward Hwang Ui-jo in the 21st minute. Defender Kwon Kyung-won had the other South Korean goal in the 87th.It was South Korea's first international match of the pandemic-plagued 2020, but the result seemed rather inconsequential, as South Korea played without six players and one team staffer who tested positive for COVID-19 just before the match.The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced Saturday morning in Seoul, about 20 hours before the kickoff agai

Nov 15, 2020
Korea lose to Mexico in football friendly marred by COVID-19 outbreak
Sports

Im Sung-jae seeks historic Masters newcomer victory

Im Sung-jae watches his shot on the 11th fairway during the third round of the Masters golf tournament Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020, in Augusta, Ga. APIm Sung-jae, who this week played his first-ever round at Augusta National, is suddenly a threat to pull off a historic victory at the Masters.The 22-year-old South Korean, who shares second entering Sunday's final round, could become the first golfer to win his Masters debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979."I want to just stay composed, stick to my game plan, try to minimize as many mistakes as possible and hopefully have a good finish," Im said through a translator.World number 25 Im, who first played Augusta National in a Monday practice round, stands on 12-under 204 through 54 holes, four back of world number one Dustin Johnson.Im could become the second man from Asia to win a major golf title after South Korea's Yang Yong-Eun captured the 2009 PGA Championship."I know a lot of people back home are staying up late and not sleeping watching the Masters, watching me perform," said Im, who recalled sleepless nights of his own watching Tiger Wo

Nov 15, 2020
Im Sung-jae seeks historic Masters newcomer victory
Sports

Four players, one staffer on national football team test positive for COVID-19

Four players and one staff member on the South Korean men's national football team have tested positive for COVID-19 while in Austria to play friendly matches. Courtesy of Korea Football Association, YonhapFour players and one staff member on the South Korean men's national football team have tested positive for COVID-19 while in Austria to play friendly matches.The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Saturday that forward Lee Dong-jun, midfielders Kwon Chang-hoon and Hwang In-beom, goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, and an unidentified staffer tested positive for the coronavirus after undergoing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests at 5 p.m. Thursday.The team has been staying in Vienna since earlier this week to prepare for matches against Mexico on Saturday and Qatar, Tuesday.The KFA said all five are asymptomatic, and the rest of the team and all other staff members are being quarantined in their hotel rooms.Those who have tested negative are scheduled to be tested again at 8 a.m. Saturday local time, and the status of the upcoming matches will be determined depending on their results, t

Nov 14, 2020
Four players, one staffer on national football team test positive for COVID-19
Sports

Cinderella season ends in KBO postseason elimination for KT Wiz

KT Wiz's So Hyeong-jun. YonhapThe very first South Korean baseball postseason for the KT Wiz lasted only four games, after the “Cinderella” club of the 2020 season fell to the defending champion Doosan Bears in the penultimate round. The Wiz lost to the Bears 2-0 in Game 4 of the best-of-five second round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason Friday. They had dropped the first two games 3-2 and 4-1, and then battled back with a 5-2 win Thursday. It was the franchise's first postseason victory.But the Wiz ran out of steam Friday. They opened the game with three consecutive hits but still failed to score, and then only managed two more hits over the rest of the match.Still, the KBO's youngest franchise, which joined the league in 2015, had a year to remember, and the Wiz's surge into postseason contention was one of the feel-good stories of the pandemic-interrupted season.The Wiz had mostly been the league doormat. They finished in last place in each of their first three seasons, and then moved up to ninth in 2018.Under the tutelage of new manager Lee Kang-chu

Nov 14, 2020
Cinderella season ends in KBO postseason elimination for KT Wiz
Sports

Injured Neymar ruled out of Brazil's World Cup qualifiers

In this file photo taken on October 24, 2020 Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar reacts during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Dijon at the Parc de Princes stadium in Paris. AFPNeymar has been ruled out of Brazil's World Cup qualifier against Uruguay next week because of a groin injury he sustained playing for Paris-Saint-Germain in a Champions League game.Brazil's soccer confederation on Thursday confirmed Neymar will not play in the South American qualifying match on Tuesday in Montevideo.PSG coach Thomas Tuchel last week said it would be ``impossible'' for Neymar to play for Brazil as he recovered from the injury, but Brazil coach Tite insisted that the striker travel.Neymar had already been ruled out of Friday's game against Venezuela.Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said Neymar's recovery after four days off training was not enough.Tite had already called up Flamengo striker Pedro for the matches, without removing Neymar from the squad.Brazil had already lost five players for the two matches, including injured midfielders Philippe C

Nov 13, 2020
Injured Neymar ruled out of Brazil's World Cup qualifiers
Sports

Tale of two KBO batters: little engine keeps chugging along, big slugger's slump continues

(From top) KT Wiz outfielder Cho Yong-ho and Doosan Bears first baseman Oh Jae-il. YonhapOne is a smallish, scrappy corner outfielder with something to prove. The other is a hulking first baseman with three championship rings. With their teams locked in a South Korean baseball postseason battle, their contrasting performances serve as an apt representation of where each team is going, after three games into a best-of-five series.The former is KT Wiz outfielder Cho Yong-ho, who has shown some wizardry with his bat and his defense so far in his first extended postseason. The latter is Doosan Bears first baseman Oh Jae-il, a bear of a man whose hitting slump is so bad that his usually carefree manager is worried.The Bears are leading the Wiz 2-1 in their best-of-five second round of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason. But the Wiz, after losing the first two, took the third game 5-2 thanks to a five-run outburst in the eighth inning. With a favorable pitching matchup for Friday's Game 4, the Wiz feel like they can make this a series and force a deciding Game 5. Cho was 6-fo

Nov 13, 2020
Tale of two KBO batters: little engine keeps chugging along, big slugger's slump continues
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