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    Impressive Korea starts World Cup with a bang

    Korea came from behind to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 on Thursday evening (local time) in Guadalajara to start the 2026 World Cup with a deserved win, even if it was touch and go for a while. Some missed chances meant that for a while, it looked like the points were slipping away, but in the end it was a fine performance from coach Hong Myung-bo’s men. The Taegeuk Warriors' first opening win at the World Cup since 2010 sets them up nicely to get out Group A and into the knockout stages. The three points are welcome, but so is the fact that Korea played some exciting and attractive soccer, in contrast to the physical Czechs who mostly threatened from set pieces. Hwang In-beom was the star; the midfielder scored a fine equalizer and then assisted Oh Hyeon-gyu for the winning goal. After all the pretournament criticism and uncertainty, there were big smiles on the faces of the Korean players and their army of fans in Mexico. The first half belonged to the 2002 semifinalists. Lee Kang-in was pulling the strings going forward, picking out passes and finding space. Son Heung-min is still th

    2 MIN READBy John Duerden
    Impressive Korea starts World Cup with a bang
  • Sports

    Lee Kang-in gearing up for match vs. ex-club coach: 'He's just an opponent'

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Lee Kang-in gearing up for match vs. ex-club coach: 'He's just an opponent'
  • Sports

    Every trial became blessing in disguise: Dad behind Korea’s new World Cup hero

    3 MIN READBy Hankookilbo
    Every trial became blessing in disguise: Dad behind Korea’s new World Cup hero
  • Sports

    Kim Jae-youl re-elected ISU president, term extended through 2030

    1 MIN READBy Hankookilbo
    Kim Jae-youl re-elected ISU president, term extended through 2030
  • Sports

    Injured defender recovering quickly, available in group stage

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Injured defender recovering quickly, available in group stage
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Sports

Rio 2016 Olympic collapsing

/ Courtesy of TwitterBy Lee Han-sooWith only four month left before the Olympic Games open in Rio de Janeiro on August 5, an outbreak of swine virus and devastating ticket sales are adding onto Brazil’s problems.With the Zika virus and high domestic crime not even close to being solved, these problems are becoming a burden for the Brazilian government.Brazil’s Ministry of Health reported on Mar 29 that there have been 372confirmed reports of the swine flu. The epidemic has already claimed the lives of 55 people and is centered on the southeastern parts of Brazil, where the Olympics are due to take place.Of the confirmed cases, 260 patients were diagnosed in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city also located in the south-east..The highly lethal swine virus can infect one in three flu victims.Although the health ministry announced that they it will carry out a mass vaccination campaign from Apr 30 to May 5, concerns remain.Additionally, only 50 percent of tickets to the Olympics have been sold so far, according to AFP citing Phil Wilkinson, a spokesman for t

Apr 4, 2016
Rio 2016 Olympic collapsing
Sports

Cardinals' Oh Seung-hwan throws scoreless inning in MLB debut

The St. Louis Cardinals' South Korean pitcher Oh Seung-hwan tossed a scoreless inning in his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.Oh walked two and struck out two in the seventh inning against the host Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in their season opener. The Cardinals lost the game 4-1.Oh relieved starter Adam Wainwright to start the seventh, with the Cards down 3-0, and faced Matt Joyce as his first major league hitter. Oh threw a 93 mph cutter for a wild pitch and tossed two more balls to fall behind 3-0. Oh eventually walked Joyce on six pitches.Oh got John Jaso to ground out to second on two pitches, as Joyce moved to second.The right-hander went to a full count against the next batter, Andrew McCutchen, before walking him on a cutter. It was another battle to a full count facing David Freese, but Oh got him looking on an 83 mph slider for his first big league strikeout.Oh had his second straight strikeout against Starling Marte, who swung and missed on an 85 mph slider with the count full.Oh threw 27 pitches, 12 of them for strikes.Seth Ma

Apr 4, 2016
Sports

Seongnam, Jeonbuk lead early K-League rounds

Marvin Ogunjimi of Suwon FC passes the ball against Gwangju FC at Suwon Sports Complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Suwon FC won 2-1. / YonhapBy John DuerdenNothing particularly exciting or surprising happened for South Korean football during a week of international games. A 1-0 win over Lebanon in Ansan was followed by a 1-0 win over Thailand in Bangkok. Now attention turns back to the K-League season which was just getting started when it was temporarily put on ice.After three games, Seongnam FC may have moved to the top of the standings on Saturday thanks to a 1-0 win over the Pohang Steelers at the Tancheon Stadium thanks to a third goal from Brazilian star striker Tiago Alves, but coach Kim Hak-beom knows that it is far too early to be getting excited about anything.“It is good to start the season well,” said the experienced tactician. “But we are just looking at the next game and focusing on that.”This was standard football talk then and just below Seongnam in the standings are some standard football names when it comes to winning titles and trop

Apr 3, 2016
Seongnam, Jeonbuk lead early K-League rounds
Sports

First pitch at new ballpark

Olympic champion figure skater Kim Yu-na throws out the ceremonial first pitch of the opening game between the Samsung Lions and the Doosan Bears at the newly built Daegu Samsung Lions Park, Friday. The 10 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) clubs began their six-month-long season Friday. / Yonhap

Apr 1, 2016
Sports

Orioles' Kim Hyun-soo refuses minor league assignment

South Korean outfielder Kim Hyun-soo of the Baltimore Orioles has refused a minor league assignment, his Seoul-based agency said Friday.Leeco Sports Agency said Kim has informed the Major League Baseball (MLB) club that he hopes to remain in the majors "as stated in his contract." The Orioles have been openly pressuring the struggling player to accept the assignment to the minors, but under the terms of Kim's two-year, US$7 million deal, the club needs the player's consent to make that move."Kim would like to see his contract honored and executed faithfully," the agency said in a statement. "He also hopes to receive fair opportunities to continue his career as a major leaguer with Baltimore."The ball is now in the Orioles' court. They can either keep him on their roster or release him outright, in which case they will be on the hook for the remainder of Kim's contract. The Opening Day roster must be set by noon Sunday.A perennial All-Star with the Doosan Bears in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) over the past several seasons, Kim joined the Orioles with hopes of becoming their e

Apr 1, 2016
Sports

Advice on boosting distance without sacrificing accuracy

By Kim Jeong-kyoo For longer tee shots, you need to hit your ball in the middle of the clubface. Granted, you need to swing your club so your clubhead speed peaks through your shot. To this end, you need to swing your club on the correct path. The advice here will help you hit your ball longer and straighter with ease. 1. Turn your shoulders more  A sure-fire way to hit longer tee shots with more accuracy is to turn your shoulders more on the backswing. This helps create more torque between your upper body and lower body -- right at your waist. The greater torque you build on the backswing, the longer you can hit your ball. 2. Use your legs  Also, turn your left knee to the right until it points behind your ball to complete your backswing. Then, turn your left knee toward the target as you start your downswing. That encourages you to rotate your hips fully, and thus your shoulders.To turn your body fully, you need to use your legs, especially if you are a senior player. You will lose power and distance with age. As your flexibility lessens, you star

Mar 30, 2016
Advice on boosting distance without sacrificing accuracy
Sports

IT'S GOOD FOR YOUR GAME

Straight putt is harder than it looks By T.J. Tomasi Jason Day lined up the winning 4-footer and the announcer whispered that it was a straight putt -- the key was to hit it firmly into the center of the cup, and when he did, it looked easy. But it wasn't.Perfectly straight putts are much harder than most players think, for two reasons: You don't have that many (most putts have a break), and you have less hole to work with on a dead-straight putt.The hole is 4.25 inches wide, giving you only 2.125 inches on either side of dead center. The ball is 1.68 inches wide. If you pull the putt merely 1 inch off center, then the available hole at the point of entry would be only 1.125 inches wide, and since the ball is wider than that, you'd probably lip out. The same holds true for the push.Is there anything you can do to increase your chances of draining a harder-than-it-looks straight putt? Yes, you can increase what is called your “vernier acuity,” defined by Webster's as the “ability to detect the alignment or lack of alignment of the two parts of a broken line

Mar 30, 2016
IT'S GOOD FOR YOUR GAME
Sports

Orioles' Kim Hyun-soo may start next season in minors

Kim Hyun-soo of the Baltimore Orioles hits a fly ball to left field against the Atlanta Braves in the top of the first inning at Champion Stadium in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., March 2 (KST). / YonhapBy Baek Byung-yeulKorean baseball player Kim Hyun-soo, who joined the Baltimore Orioles in Major League Baseball (MLB) this season, is likely to start the new season in the minors.The Orioles’ general manager Dan Duquette said Tuesday that Kim won’t be included in the team’s 25-man roster for opening day.“I think from our perspective, we had a couple of players do real well in spring training, and it looks like they’re going to be helpful to the team to start the season,” Duquette was quoted as saying in the Baltimore Sun.The local newspaper said that the general manager’s comments end lingering speculation about Kim’s future, as the Orioles have been quiet amid Fox Sports’ report on Sunday that the team may try to release the 28-year-old outfielder, who struggled in his first MLB spring training.During spring training, Kim was at ba

Mar 30, 2016
Orioles' Kim Hyun-soo may start next season in minors
Sports

Baseball in Korea goes back further than you might think

A scene from the 2002 Korean film “YMCA Baseball Team” shows players wearing a uniform of the YMCA baseball team in the early 20th century. Many believe baseball was introduced to Korea in 1905 by an American missionary with the YMCA, but a new record has been found showing there was a baseballgame in the late 19th century. / Courtesy of CJ E&MA cover for the personal diary of Elizabeth Greathouse, which shows there was a baseball game in Korea in 1894. / Courtesy of Robert NeffBy Patrick BourgoWhile the earliest reference to baseball being played in Korea is thought to be in a newspaper from 1896, an even earlier mention can be found in the personal diary of a Seoul resident from 1894.Similar to the Doubleday myth in America, many still believe that baseball was introduced to Korea in 1905 by an American missionary with the YMCA named Philip L. Gillett. However, while Gillett did promote the game among Korean youth, there are numerous records of baseball being played in Korea far earlier than 1905.The early days of baseball in Korea go back to the late

Mar 29, 2016
Baseball in Korea goes back further than you might think
Sports

S. Korea's Olympic berth looking bright

Moon Chang-jin celebrates after scoring Korea’s third goal in a friendly against Algeria in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The national team won 3-0. / YonhapOlympic team defeats Algeria 3-0, following 2-0 winBy John DuerdenAnything the senior national team of South Korea can do, the Olympic 11 can do too. With Uli Stielike’s men progressing smoothly to the final round of qualification for the 2018 World Cup, Shin Tae-yong and his preparations for the U-23 tournament are also going quite nicely.On Monday, in the northern city of Goyang, South Korea defeated Algeria 3-0, following a 2-0 win over the same team three days earlier.It was a comfortable victory against decent opposition but everyone knows the hard work comes in August when the Rio tournament kicks off. Talking of Rio, coach Shin, who is also an assistant to Stielike with the national team, will be heading to Brazil in mid-April. A draw will be made for the tournament and it could be very interesting indeed.The format is as clear as the skies above Copacabana Beach. The 16 teams will start the tournament,

Mar 29, 2016
S. Korea's Olympic berth looking bright
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