St. Louis Cardinals reliever Oh Seung-hwan is expected to get more save opportunities following an injury to the club's incumbent closer.The South Korean right-hander, who started the season as the closer but was removed from the role last month, could be back in his old job after Trevor Rosenthal was placed on the 10-day disabled list with right posterior elbow irritation Thursday (local time).Rosenthal left Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox early. He'd converted seven consecutive save

South Korean football icon Park Ji-sung said Thursday that the national team players should overcome World Cup qualifying pressure to earn good results in upcoming matches.South Korea, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, will host Iran on Aug. 31 and take on Uzbekistan five days later on the road in their final World Cup qualifying campaign. Both are considered must-win matches for the Taeguk Warriors, who are barely holding on to the last automatic qualification spot in Group A in the final Asian

Tickets for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics will go on sale next week to coincide with the 200-day countdown, the organizers said Thursday.The organizing committee for the Paralympic Winter Games said tickets will be available for purchase online at its website (https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/paralympics/index) starting at 2 p.m. next Monday. The Paralympics will run from March 9 to 18.There will be 280,000 tickets available for para alpine skiing, para biathlon, para cross-country s

The South Korea women's national football team will play friendly matches against the United States in October, the sport's national governing body said Thursday.The Korea Football Association confirmed it reached an agreement with its American counterpart to have two friendly matches in the US The two sides will first meet at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Oct. 20 (Korean time), and will square off again three days later at Sahlen's Stadium in Cary, North Carolina. The South Korean w

South Korea women's football coach Yoon Duk-yeo has signed an extension that will keep him at the helm for two more years, officials here said Thursday.Yoon, 56, signed a new two-year contract with the Korea Football Association that will see him lead the women's national football team through the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, should South Korea qualify for the tournament."I want to thank the KFA and my players for giving me an opportunity to lead the national team for two more years," he said. "

South Korean athletes competing at this year's Summer Universiade departed for Taiwan on Thursday.South Korea will be represented in 22 sports by 319 athletes and 96 officials at the Aug. 19-30 competition in Taipei. Some university athletes are already in the Taiwanese capital due to the schedule of their competition. On Thursday, the main delegation of some 110 athletes flew to Taipei. This photo provided by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee shows South Korean athletes and officials posing

The South Korean men's national football team will face a local professional club later this month to fine-tune its preparations for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, an official with the Korea Football Association (KFA) said Thursday.South Korea will test their readiness for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers with a friendly against Suwon Samsung Bluewings at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, north of Seoul, on Aug. 26, according to the official. Suwon are currently third in th

Ryu So-yeon, world No. 1 in women's golf, has been shortlisted for an international award honoring the year's top female athlete.The South Korean golfer is among 10 finalists in individual sports for the Sportswoman of the Year, announced by the U.S.-based Women's Sports Foundation on Thursday.Ryu, a five-time LPGA Tour winner, has been the top-ranked female golfer since June 26. In April, she won the ANA Inspiration for her second career major championship.Ryu will be up against the following a

South Korea's top sports body on Wednesday said it opposes the national football association's plan to amend articles related to the former's authority.The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee said it will not accept the Korea Football Association's decision to delete articles that will affect the relationship between the two organizations. The KFA is a member of the KSOC, which manages national sports federations and their athletes. The KFA made the decision at its senior members' assembly on Aug.

WONJU -- There is no rest for the weary, as PGA Tour golfer Bae Sang-moon vowed on Wednesday to get to work right away after his discharge from the South Korean Army.Bae completed his 21-month, mandatory military service here in Wonju, some 130 kilometers east of Seoul, and said he'll hit the range later in the day.Bae, 31, is scheduled to make his return to competitive golf at Shinhan Donghae Open on the Korean Tour on Sept. 14.Prior to his discharge, Bae had said earlier this month he'd done p

South Korean football club Suwon Samsung Bluewings' Brazilian striker Johnathan Aparecido da Silva is expected to be sidelined for at least two months due to an ankle injury, a club official said Wednesday.The official said Johnathan, currently the leading scorer in the top-flight K League Classic with 19 goals, was diagnosed with a fracture in his right ankle from the club's designated hospital, and he requires at least two months of treatment."Johnathan needs to wear a cast for a month and nee

Veteran South Korean attacker Lee Keun-ho said Wednesday he is eager to beat Iran in the upcoming World Cup qualifying match later this month.Lee is one of the 26 players selected by new men's national football team head coach Shin Tae-yong for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers against Iran and Uzbekistan. South Korea will host Iran on Aug. 31 and will take on Uzbekistan five days later on the road.In the final Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, South Korea are currently

Veteran football coach Kim Hak-bum was appointed as the new leader of the last-place club in the top South Korean football league Wednesday.Gwangju FC in the K League Classic announced Kim will be their new head coach, though they didn't disclose details of the contract. Kim will succeed Nam Ki-il, who offered to resign Monday in the midst of the club's poor season.Gwangju are dead last in the 12-team league with 19 points, four back of Incheon United, with four wins, 14 losses and seven draws.

The South Korean men's handball team defeated Iran Tuesday to win an international competition in Seoul, and Tunisia took second place. South Korea scored a victory of 33-22 over Iran in the last match of the 12th Seoul Cup Handball at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in the capital city. (Yonhap)In the three-day competition in which three countries -- South Korea, Tunisia and Iran -- participated, South Korea tied with Tunisia with one win and one tie but went four points ahead in score. Iran fini

South Korean tennis player Chung Hyeon has cracked the top 50 in the men's world rankings for the first time.Chung jumped seven spots to reach a career-high No. 49 in the Association of Tennis Professionals world rankings released on Monday. In this Associated Press file photo taken on Aug. 8, 2017, Chung Hyeon of South Korea hits a shot against Feliciano Lopez of Spain during the first round of the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Montreal. (Yonhap)Chung's previous high had been No. 51 from Octo