By excluding one of South Korea's biggest football stars from his roster announced Monday, senior men's national team head coach Uli Stielike actually wants to help the country's football on a much deeper level.For South Korea's squad for the second round Asian qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup against Lebanon on March 24 and a friendly match in Thailand on March 27, there was a small surprise:Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min was missing. It turns out Stielike's intention was to help

Struggling Tottenham Hotspurs winger Son Heung-min has been left off the South Korean men's national football team for two matches scheduled this month.Son was conspicuous by his absence on the 23-man roster announced Monday by head coach Uli Stielike. On March 24, South Korea will host Lebanon in Group G action in the second Asian qualifying round for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.South Korea have already clinched the top seed in the group and will advance to the next and final round of the regional

After going hitless in his first seven spring training games, Kim Hyun-soo of the Baltimore Orioles has now hit safely in three straight games.The South Korean, batting sixth and playing left field, went 1-for-2 with an RBI against the Minnesota Twins at CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida, on Sunday.He drove in the Orioles' third run of the first inning with a sacrifice fly off Minnesota starter Ricky Nolasco.After grounding out to second in the third, Kim hit a two-out single in

Newly promoted football club Suwon FC picked up a point in their first division debut on Sunday.Suwon FC visited the Jeonnam Dragons for their first K League Classic match and came away with a 0-0 draw at Gwangyang Football Stadium in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province.Suwon FC earned a promotion from the second-tier K League Challenge. Though they've lost some key players over the offseason, Suwon held their ground against Jeonnam on the road.Jeonnam were in control early with a trio of imported

South Korean short tracker Choi Min-jeong defended her world overall title on home ice Sunday.Choi finished first among all female skaters with 66 points over two days at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Short Track Speed Skating Championships at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. The points were accumulated over 500m, 1,000m, 1,500m and 3,000 super final races.Marianne St-Gelais of Canada finished second with 63 points, and Elise Christie of Britain ranked third with 47 points.Choi is the fi

Minnesota Twins' Park Byung-ho extended his spring hitting streak to five games on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles in Florida.Batting cleanup as designated hitter, Park went 2-for-3 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida, to raise his batting average to .364 (8-for-22).Park hit two singles in his first two at-bats for his second multi-hit game of spring training. He flied out to center in the sixth and was lifted for pinch hitter Mitch Garver in the seventh.Park is in his first U.S. spr

South Korean speed skater Lee Sang-hwa finished her 2015-2016 World Cup season ranked No. 4.The International Skating Union (ISU) Speed Skating World Cup season wrapped in the Dutch city of Heerenveen Saturday with Lee, two-time Olympic champion and world record holder in the 500 meters, absent. She chose to sit out the final two World Cups to rest her ailing knee and slipped from No. 1 to No. 4 in the points rankings as a result.The ISU scheduled two 500m races in each of the six World Cup stop

South Korean short track legend Chun Lee-kyung has dabbled at many things since the end of her decorated career in 1998 -- TV commentary, ice hockey and even politics.This week, Chun is back on home ice as a short track coach -- not for her native country, but for the one-man team of Singapore.Chun will be coaching Lucas Ng at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, which will open later Friday at Seoul's Mokdong Ice Rink with the qualifying races."I'

South Korea's World Cup qualifying match against suspended Kuwait has been postponed, officials said Friday.An official at the Korea Football Association said FIFA has yet to lift its sanctions on Kuwait, punished last October after failing to amend the country's sports law to prevent government interference in the national football body. The two countries were scheduled to meet on March 29 in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in their final match of the second Asian qualifying round for

Teen figure skating phenom You Young captured her first international title on Thursday in Austria.You, 11, won the advanced novice girls' competition at the Cup of Tyrol in Innsbruck with a combined score of 134.75 points after short program and free skating.Marina Piredda of Italy was a distant second at 102.43 points.You, who made headlines by becoming the youngest South Korean champion in January, led all skaters with 88.03 points in Thursday's free skating. A day earlier, she also topped th

Familiar foreign strikers and local heavyweights are to battle for the top scoring title in South Korea's first division football league this season, but their closest rivals could lie within their club.Twelve teams in the K League Classic start their nine-month journey this weekend with two-time defending champion Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors again the top dogs, while reigning Korean Football Association Cup winner FC Seoul are considered the top challenger to dethrone Jeonbuk. Fans are also likely t

Baltimore Orioles outfielder Kim Hyun-soo ended a long drought at the plate to pick up his first U.S. hit and RBI in preseason action Thursday.Kim snapped out of a 0-for-23 funk with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the seventh against the New York Yankees left-hander James Pazos in Sarasota, Florida.Kim's RBI made it 4-2 Yankees, and the O's scored two more runs in the same inning to draw the game even. It ended in a 4-4 tie.Kim ended the day 1-for-3 with an RBI, and he was also hit by a

Lee Woon-jae, a member of the semifinalist South Korean team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, will join the country's senior national squad as a goalkeeper coach, the national football governing body said Wednesday.After its technical committee meeting on Tuesday, the Korea Football Association announced that Lee, who is currently a goalkeeper coach for the South Korea men's Olympic football team, will serve the same role for the senior team guided by head coach Uli Stielike. The goalkeeper coaching

The Minnesota Twins' Park Byung-ho homered for his second straight spring game on Tuesday in Florida.The four-time South Korean home run king blasted a solo shot off Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Gavin Floyd in the second inning of their Grapefruit League game in Dunedin, Florida.It was Park's second home run in as many games. He launched a grand slam on Sunday and had a day off Monday before returning to action against the Jays.Park's home run cut the Twins' deficit to 5-1, but Minnesota went

With the 2016 K League Classic football season looming, Ulsan Hyundai FC forward Lee Jeong-hyeop says a devastating injury is now behind him and he's ready to contribute to his new club.Lee's solid season with Sangju Sangmu FC -- a second-division club of conscripted players -- was abruptly halted last August when he suffered broken cheekbones after jumping into the head of an opponent in a battle for the loose ball. He missed nearly two months of action.Lee completed his military service in Oct