TOKYO (AFP) --Japanese officials and Tokyo 2020 organizers began talks Friday on the mammoth task of how to hold the postponed Olympics safely while the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.    The Games were postponed earlier this year in a historic decision as the scale of the coronavirus crisis became clear.    But with less than a year until the new opening date on July 23, 2021, many questions remain -- from how border controls will affect the mov

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released standard contracts for esports on Thursday, addressing last year‘s online petition that requested action for fair contracts between players and organizations. Although South Korea has been hailed as the birthplace of esports with the Starcraft league established in 1999, there has been few mechanisms to protect esports players from unfair contracts.  The case of Kanavi, the current jungler for LPL’s JD Gaming, last year bro

With only the finals on Saturday remaining for League of Legends Champions Korea Summer before the World Championships, Riot Games announced the winners of the LCK Awards on Thursday. The LCK Awards was launched this spring in order to commend players and coaching staff that showed an outstanding performance during the season. The six awards are All-LCK Team, Young Player, Best Coach, Regular Season MVP, Player Of the Split and Finals MVP. Player Of the Split went to Gen. G’s Bdd

Citing concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, Ko Jin-young, the world No. 1 in women's golf from South Korea, has decided not to defend an LPGA major championship in California this month. SEMA Sports Marketing, Ko's Seoul-based agency, announced Friday that Ko will not compete at the ANA Inspiration, which opens Sept. 10 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. The tournament is usually held in late March or early April but has been pushed back this year because of the CO

What is it they say about luck? That you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good? Kim Kwang-hyun, the South Korean rookie starter for the St. Louis Cardinals, has been riding the wave of some good fortune this season, as he has put together some impressive numbers. His basic statistics are outstanding. He's 2-0 in five games, including four starts, with a 0.83 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. It's the lowest in Major League Baseball (MLB) among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. As a s

A second South Korean minor league baseball player tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, about 24 hours after his teammate was infected. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced that a member of the Hanwha Eagles' minor league affiliate tested positive for COVID-19, joining his teammate, pitcher Shin Jung-rak. Shin became the first South Korean professional athlete to be infected with the virus. The identity of the second player is being withheld. The KBO only said the

BARCELONA (AFP) -- Lionel Messi missed a coronavirus test at Barcelona's training ground on Sunday morning, club sources have confirmed to AFP, raising the possibility he will now boycott preseason to force a transfer. Without passing a coronavirus test, Messi will be unable to join teammates for new coach Ronald Koeman's first training session on Monday, with the start of the La Liga season less than two weeks away. Messi was due to report for testing at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday but according t

Riot Games Korea on Friday announced the 10 preferred bidders for negotiating for LoL Champions Korea franchises next year, along with five teams that have the next priority, should negotiations with any of the 10 teams fail. The 10 preferred bidders included nine current LCK teams and hyFresh Blade in the Challengers Korea league. The nine current LCK teams selected as preferred bidders in the LCK franchise negotiations are Afreeca Freecs, Damwon Gaming, DRX, Gen. G, T1, Team Dynamics, Sandbo

Toronto Blue Jays' Ryu Hyun-jin has a sub-3.00 ERA after all. Following an official Major League Baseball (MLB) scoring change Saturday (US local time), Ryu's ERA for the season was lowered from 3.16 to 2.92. The South Korean left-hander was initially charged with two earned runs in six innings against the Baltimore Orioles at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, on Friday. Both runs were scored in the top of the sixth inning when third baseman Travis Shaw, after fielding a grounder by Ryan Mou

  The South Korean baseball club NC Dinos announced Thursday they will not sign their recent draft pick due to his history of abuse against a middle school teammate. The Dinos selected Gimhae High School pitcher Kim Yoo-seong with their territorial pick in Monday's Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) draft. In the days leading up to the draft and soon after Kim's selection, charges of physical and verbal abuse by Kim against a junior teammate on his middle school team surfaced in cyberspace.

The postseason for 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea Summer season kicked off with Afreeca Freecs playing against T1 in a best-of-3 series on Wednesday and resulted in a major upset where Afreeca won 2-1. Many analysts had predicted victory for T1, as it won both rounds against Afreeca in the regular season. T1 was the fourth place team of the regular season and the nine-time LCK Champions while Afreeca Freecs was the fifth place team. There were many key points leading up to the Wednes

For his third major league start, St. Louis Cardinals' left-hander Kim Kwang-hyun will look to pitch as many innings as he can, using as few pitches as he can. The South Korean pitcher will take the mound in the first game of a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Thursday (local time). In a Zoom call with local media on the eve of his start, Kim said he's been told by his coaching staff that he should throw around 100 pitches. He made 57 pitches in his

HANOI -- Park Hang-seo, the South Korean head coach of the Vietnamese men's national football team, has received a state badge of honor for his accomplishments in his adopted home. The Vietnamese government bestowed the second class Order of Labor upon Park at a ceremony at the Vietnam Football Federation headquarters Thursday. This award is given to individuals with outstanding achievements in labor, creativity or national construction. Park is the first foreign national to receive a Labor O

In response to a recent nationwide spike in new coronavirus cases, the South Korean baseball league announced Tuesday it will mandate face coverings in dugouts during games, with fines to be levied on multiple offenders. Effective immediately with Tuesday's games in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), players and coaches must wear masks while in their dugouts. Relief pitchers warming up in the bullpen and their bullpen catchers will be exempt from the rule. Seoul and a few other municipali

Highly touted high school pitching prospect Jang Jae-young has been drafted by the pro club that his father once managed. The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization announced Monday they chose the 18-year-old right-hander with their territorial pick. Each year, the 10 KBO clubs get to pick an amateur player based in their region in the territorial draft, with another, free-for-all amateur draft to follow later in the year. Jang is a senior at Duksoo High School in Seoul. The Heroes