South Korean national football team captain Ki Sung-yueng said Wednesday that the players are fully motivated to deliver a victory against Lebanon at the second Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.South Korea, 57th in the FIFA rankings, face No. 145-ranked Lebanon at 8 p.m. Thursday at Ansan Wa Stadium in Ansan, south of Seoul, for their Group G match of the Asian qualification. The Taeguk Warriors have already clinched the top seed in their group with six straight wins, and are t

South Korea have already qualified for the men's football tournament at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games after finishing second at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship in January, but that doesn't mean players can afford to relax.For footballers aged under 23, the competition for roster spots is just heating up, with no one having been guaranteed a spot on the final 18-man roster. For them, the two friendly matches against Algeria this month is a great opportunity to impress h

Park Byung-ho of the Minnesota Twins drove in a pair of runs in the cleanup spot in spring training action Tuesday.In a split-squad game at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida, Park went 1-for-3 with two RBIs as the Twins beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-5.After going hitless in his previous two games, the South Korean first baseman hit an RBI double off Jerad Eickhoff in the top of the first to put the Twins up 1-0.Park grounded into a 5-4-3 double play in the third but reached on an erro

The Samsung Lions have moved from the oldest baseball stadium in the country to the newest.The Lions hosted the LG Twins at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) preseason game Tuesday, the first official contest in the brand new, 24,000-seat venue.They'd been playing at the 10,000-seat Daegu Citizen Baseball Stadium since the KBO's inception in 1982. The stadium itself opened in 1948 and was renovated in 1981 before the la

South Korea will aim to keep their perfect record in the second Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup when they host Lebanon on Thursday.Regardless of the match against Lebanon, which will be played at Ansan Wa Stadium in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea have already clinched the top seed in Group G with six straight wins, and will advance to the final round of the regional qualification.Lebanon, ranked 145th, are currently third in Group G with three wins, one draw and two los

Oh Seung-hwan of the St. Louis Cardinals tossed a perfect inning in relief in his sixth spring training appearance in Florida on Monday.Oh retired the side in order in the top of the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida. The South Korean right-hander took over from Jordan Walden with the Cards trailing 4-1. He struck out Jordan Betts looking, and got Dan Butler to line out to left field. Oh then sat down Henry Ramos on a groundout to second.Oh needed

South Korea's Kim Sei-young captured her first LPGA Tour win of 2016 in Phoenix on Sunday.Kim cruised to a five-shot victory at the JTBC Founders Cup at Wildfire Golf Club at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, finishing the four-round event at 27-under 261. She lapped the field with a bogey-free final round of 10-under 62 and left world No. 1 Lydia Ko well back at 22-under.Kim, who took home $225,000, also tied an LPGA scoring record in relation to par. At the Standard

South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae achieved career-high scores in ball and clubs Sunday en route to winning three medals at an International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG) competition in Portugal.At the FIG World Cup in Lisbon, Son posted a career-high score of 18.550 in both ball and clubs, surpassing her previous best score set two days prior by 0.050. The 21-year-old marked 18.500 for the first time on Friday in hoop before repeating the same score earlier Sunday.Despite getting caree

San Francisco Giants' shortstop prospect Lee Hak-ju was sent to the team's minor league camp on Sunday, a move that put his major league dream on hold yet again.  The Giants announced that they've reassigned Lee, 25, along with three other players to their minor league camp. Lee had signed a minor league deal with the Giants last November and earned an invitation to spring training.Lee batted .286 (4-for-14) with three RBIs and a steal in 13 spring appearances, but will have to start another sea

South Korean defensive back Oh Jae-suk was replaced on the national team on Friday because of a leg injury.The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the Gamba Osaka defender won't be available in the World Cup qualifying match against Lebanon next Thursday and a friendly against Thailand on March 27 with a left thigh injury.Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defender Kim Chang-soo will take Oh's place on coach Uli Stielike's 23-man roster.Oh was named to the national team for the first time Monday but will

South Korean-born Russian short tracker Victor An said Friday he plans to retire after the next Winter Olympics in his native land.An, born Hyun-soo in South Korea and a Russian citizen since 2011, traveled to Seoul to receive an award from his alma mater, Korea National Sport University, for his athletic accomplishments.After the awards ceremony, the 30-year-old said his goal is to retire in style after competing at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics."I wanted to retire after the Sochi Winter

The South Korean baseball club Samsung Lions said Friday they remain undecided on what to do with their two pitchers that face gambling suspicions.The Lions were scheduled to announce on Friday whether or not they would use starter Yun Sung-hwan and reliever An Ji-man during the ongoing Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) preseason. Ahead of the Lions' game against the Kia Tigers in Gwangju, however, Samsung manager Ryu Joong-il said he would need to take more time."It's so tough because it's a se

South Korean forward Son Heung-min ended his two-month goal drought for Tottenham Hotspur on Friday (Korean time), though he couldn't save the English club's elimination at the second-tier European competition.At the second leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 contest, Son notched a second-half goal against Germany's Borussia Dortmund when Tottenham were trailing 2-0. However, the English Premier League (EPL) club ended up in a 2-1 loss at White Hart Lane in London and failed to reach the q

Major League Baseball (MLB) has proposed a cap on the amount a big league club can bid on South Korean players in posting, baseball officials said Friday.The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and MLB have been having discussions on the $8 million limit on players who are eligible for posting, according to a KBO official."The MLB Commissioner's Office recently suggested putting a cap on the posting fee," the official said. "They've come up with $8 million, but nothing has been decided. We'll soon

Oh Seung-hwan of the St. Louis Cardinals was touched for his first home run of the spring Thursday against the Detroit Tigers.The South Korean reliever allowed a run on three hits in 1 1/3 innings as the Tigers defeated the Cardinals 5-4 at Joker Merchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida.Oh, working on a string of 4 1/3 shutout innings, took over from starter Carlos Martinez with two outs in third and retired Jarrod Saltalamacchia on a groundout.Then after getting one out in the fourth, the South Ko