The torch relay for the first Winter Olympics in South Korea will begin on the day when the countdown reaches 100 days, the event's organizers said Monday.The organizing committee for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games said the Olympic flame, as per the 80-year tradition, will be lit in Olympia, Greece, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, on Oct. 24. The flame will travel around Greece for a week and will be handed over to a PyeongChang delegation on Oct. 31 in Athens. Kim Yu-na (L), an honora

The South Korean government on Monday said it will earmark an additional 2 billion won ($1.75 million) to fund athletes' training and help their preparations for next year's Winter Olympics at home.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the latest financial support is a supplement for this year's budget of 33.7 billion won earmarked for supporting national team athletes for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. The ministry added the supplement will help seven local winter sports

Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers has gone deep for the first time in the new season.Choo hit a three-run home run off Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners in the top of the second inning at Safeco Field in Seattle on Sunday (local time), erasing the Rangers' 1-0 deficit.Batting seventh as the designated hitter, Choo added a two-run double in the three-run third inning for a five-RBI day and drew a walk in the eighth inning before getting lifted for pinch runner Delino DeShields.In this Asso

Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min on Saturday drew level with football legend Cha Bum-kun as the highest-scoring South Korean in Europe in a single season with his goal against Bournemouth.Son scored a goal in Tottenham's 4-0 win over Bournemouth in their English Premier League match at White Hart Lane in London. The 24-year-old scored his team's second goal in the 19th minute. Following Harry Kane's slick back heel, he dribbled past Bournemouth defenders and fired a shot low between Artu

The South Korean women's national football team returned home on Thursday from North Korea after qualifying for the top Asian competition next year.South Korea, led by head coach Yoon Duk-yeo, won the Asian Football Confederation Women's Asian Cup Group B qualifying tournament in Pyongyang, where they competed against North Korea, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and India. The South Korean women's national football team poses for a group photo at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul on April 13, 2017. (Yo

The South Korea men's national under-20 football team will play friendly matches against Uruguay and Senegal before entering the World Cup at home, the sport's national governing body said Friday. The Korea Football Association said South Korea's U-20 team will face Uruguay on May 11 and take on Senegal three days later. The venues for two matches will be announced later, it added. In this file photo taken on April 10, 2017, South Korea's men's under-20 football team renews its resolution for vi

Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers has suffered his second loss of the season in as many starts, unable to get past the Chicago Cubs.Ryu was touched for a pair of home runs while allowing four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Thursday (local time), as the Cubs went on to win 4-0.In this Associated Press photo, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin winds up during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago on April 13, 2017. (

Small sample size alert: but Oh Seung-hwan, the usually reliable South Korean reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals, has been hit hard so far in the 2017 season because, as analytics shows, his slider hasn't been nearly as effective as last year.Oh recorded 19 saves and posted a 1.92 ERA last season, after replacing Trevor Rosenthal as the Cards' closer in July. The all-time saves leader in the Korea Baseball Organization struck out 103 batters in 79 2/3 innings, and the opponents batted .190 aga

South Korean football club Suwon Samsung Bluewings trounced Eastern SC 5-0 on Wednesday to move atop Group G standings at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League.Ko Seung-beom and Johnathan each grabbed a brace for their hosts at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and led the K League Classic side to their second victory in Group G, which also features Guangzhou Evergrande of China and Kawasaki Frontale of Japan.Suwon, led by head coach Seo Jung-won, now have eight po

St. Louis Cardinals' closer Oh Seung-hwan has finally tossed his first scoreless outing of the season.Oh threw one shutout inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington on Wednesday (local time), as the Cardinals won the game 6-1.Oh took the mound in the bottom of the ninth with his team up 6-1, a day after giving up a run on two doubles in one inning of work.St. Louis Cardinals' closer Oh Seung-hwan (AP-Yonhap)Daniel Murphy, who drove in that run with a double the prev

TOKYO (AP) -- One of Japan’s most popular athletes should have known she couldn’t leave quietly: Mao Asada’s press conference Wednesday to officially announce her retirement from figure skating attracted some 350 media and was telecast live across Japan.　 Asada led her country’s figure skating scene since her teens with her trademark triple axel. She started skating at the age of 5 and won world championships in 2008, 2010 and 2014 in an illustrious career that included a silver medal at the 201

St. Louis Cardinals closer Oh Seung-hwan has given up an earned run for his third straight appearance, as the usually reliable right-hander remained in a funk in the early going of the 2017 season.Oh allowed a run on two doubles in one inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington on Tuesday (local time), as the Cards fell 8-3.The South Korean has now been touched for at least an earned run in each of his three outings this season. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Oh Seung-h

JEJU, South Korea -- The southern resort island of Jeju will host South Korea's first PGA Tour event this fall, officials said Wednesday.The Jeju provincial government said it will sign an agreement with the PGA Tour and CJ Group, the title sponsor of the tournament named the CJ Cup@Nine Bridges, at a ceremony on Thursday. Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of CJ Group (left), and Jay Monahan, then deputy commissioner of the PGA Tour, pose with their agreements in Seoul after CJ signed on to host the CJ

South Korean women's football head coach Yoon Duk-yeo said the real work for his team begins now, after they qualified for next year's top Asian competition.South Korea won the Asian Football Confederation Women's Asian Cup Group B qualifying tournament Tuesday, thanks to a 4-0 win over Uzbekistan in Pyongyang. South Korea and North Korea finished tied at 10 points with identical records of three wins and a draw, but the South had a better goal difference, plus-20 to plus-17. The South Korea wom

ANYANG, South Korea -- South Korean club Anyang Halla captured their second straight Asian hockey title with an overtime victory at home on Tuesday.Kim Ki-sung scored the championship-clinching goal on a power play to lift Anyang past Sakhalin 3-2 for the Asia League Ice Hockey championship, as the home team completed a three-game sweep of the best-of-five final at Anyang Ice Arena in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province. Anyang also beat Sakhalin for the championship last year. Anyang forward Kim Sang-woo