CHIBA -- South Korean fencer Park Sang-young came out of nowhere to snatch gold in the men's epee event at the 2016 Olympics, capturing the imagination of his country. The affable athlete with an easy smile and a dogged determination -- Park rallied from a 14-10 deficit against Geza Imre of Hungary and won 15-14 -- became an instant star of the Rio de Janeiro Games for South Korea. But along with newfound fame came the weight of expectations, something Park now admits became unbearable at time

TOKYO -- Veteran South Korean pistol shooter Jin Jong-oh will take his one last shot at a medal to further bolster his Olympic legacy on Tuesday. He and teammate Choo Ga-eun will participate in the 10m air pistol team event at Asaka Shooting Range on the fourth day of competition at the Tokyo Olympics. Jin, now competing in his fifth Olympics, has so far collected six medals, with four golds and two silvers. The seventh medal will make him the most decorated South Korean Olympic athlete ever an

TOKYO -- South Korea jumped to the top of Group B in the Tokyo Olympic men's football tournament with a 4-0 victory over Romania on Sunday. Midfielder Lee Kang-in grabbed a brace against the 10-man Romania at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium in Kashima, about 110 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, for South Korea's first victory of the competition. A Romanian own goal and a second-half score by Um Won-sang gave South Korea more than enough offense. South Korea, which lost to New Zealand 1-0 in last week's

South Korean teen swimmer Hwang Sun-woo broke an 11-year-old national record in the men's 200m freestyle on Sunday at the Tokyo Olympics, while winning the heats to reach the semifinals. Hwang finished first in Heat 3 with the time of 1:44.62 at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Park Tae-hwan had the previous mark of 1:44.80, set while winning the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games gold medal. This was also Hwang's new personal best, topping his world junior record of 1:44.96 set in May. Hwang finished first o

South Korean judoka An Baul claimed the bronze medal in the men's 66kg event at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, reaching the podium for the second consecutive Summer Games. An defeated Manuel Lombardo of Italy by a decisive ippon in the bronze medal match at Nippon Budokan for his second straight medal. An won silver in the same class at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. An's is the first judo medal for South Korea in Tokyo. An got his ippon with his signature "seoi nage," or a shoul

At only 25, South Korean archer Kang Chae-young has already been through more than her share of ups and downs, with one particularly gut-wrenching moment sticking out. At the national team trials for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Kang finished one point behind Chang Hye-jin for the third and final spot. The two embraced and cried in each other's arms -- Kang upset at her loss and Chang feeling terrible for an archer nine years her junior. Chang went on to win two gold medals in Rio, sweepi

By capturing her second Olympic gold medal in as many days, South Korean archer An San has joined legends that came before her. The 20-year-old also has a chance to do what no archer has done in Olympic history: win three gold medals at a single competition. An combined with Jang Min-hee and Kang Chae-young for the women's team gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday. They beat the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) by the set score of 6-0 at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field. By helping South K

South Korea has done it again -- for the ninth time, in fact. South Korea claimed its ninth consecutive Olympic gold medal in the women's archery team event on Sunday, beating the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) by the set score of 6-0 in the final of the Tokyo Summer Games. An San, Jang Min-hee and Kang Chae-young extended the most impressive winning streak in Olympic archery history. South Korea has won every gold medal in this event since it was introduced in Seoul in 1988. South Korea is

TOKYO -- Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon briefly met with Japanese Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo on the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics, diplomatic sources said Sunday. The encounter took place in the Olympic stadium late Friday following the opening ceremony of the games, the sources familiar with the matter said. In the talks, Ban reportedly congratulated the emperor for the opening of the Olympics and Emperor Naruhito expressed appreciation in return, according to the sourc

CHIBA -- The third time didn't prove to be the charm for Lee Dae-hoon, the South Korean taekwondo icon who was chasing his first gold in his third Olympic appearance Sunday. That dream ended after the first match, as the top-seeded Lee lost to Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan 21-19 in the round of 16 at the men's 68kg event at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba, east of Tokyo. Rashitov scored his two "golden points" in the extra period, after the two finished three rounds of regulation kno

CHIBA -- South Korean taekwondo star Lee Dae-hoo suffered a shocking loss in his first match at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, missing out on his third and likely final crack at an Olympic gold. Lee lost to Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan 21-19 in the round of 16 at the men's 68kg event at Makuhari Messe Hall A in Chiba, east of Tokyo. The two practitioners were tied at 19-19 after three rounds, setting up the sudden-death extra period. Rashitov got his two "golden points" with a kick

Two key players on the left side of the South Korean infield have sustained minor injuries in a recent pre-Olympic tuneup game. Shortstop Oh Ji-hwan received five stitches to his neck after a collision with a base runner during the national baseball team's exhibition game against the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Saturday in Seoul. A KBO official said Oh is fully participating in team practices. Oh was trying to tag out Chae Eun-seong as he slid into the second base bag,

  Samsung Electronics Co.'s Canada operations said Sunday it will donate $1,000 for every medal won by Canadian athletes at the Tokyo Summer Games in a promotional event. Samsung Canada plans to deliver up to $25,000 for as many as 25 medal wins to stand by Team Canada athletes during the summer sports games under way amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in a statement.  The funding effort, which will support the Canadian sport system through the Canadian Olympic Foundation

A pair of South Korean artistic gymnasts have found themselves in surprise contention thanks to strong performances in the qualifying rounds at the Tokyo Olympics. And coach Shin Hyung-ook is so heartened by what he saw from Shin Jea-hwan in the men's vault and Ryu Sung-hyun in the men's floor exercise on Saturday that he believes they can both capture gold medals. Shin Jea-hwan won the men's vault qualifying with 14.866 points from his two attempts. Ryu ranked third among eight finalists in t

CHIBA -- Over the past two decades, South Korean-born taekwondo coach Choi Young-seok has transformed Thailand from a fledgling presence to an emerging force at international events. The culmination came Saturday with the country's first Olympic taekwondo gold medal, as Panipak Wongpattanakit won the women's 49kg title at the Tokyo Summer Games. Thailand had previously collected two silvers and three bronzes. And Choi, who has been coaching Thailand since 2002, is undergoing the naturalization