World’s top-ranked badminton duo vows to win on home soil

The 2014 Incheon Asian Games will officially kick off with a grand opening ceremony on Friday to catch the eyes of 4.5 billion people across the continent for 16 days.Incheon, South Korea’s main maritime gateway on the west coast, will be home to more than 14,000 athletes and staff from 45 countries until Oct. 4, who will be vying for 439 gold medals in 36 sports.The Incheon Asiad is the third continental event hosted by South Korea following the Seoul Asiad in 1986 and the Busan Games in 2002.C

The South Korean government is in internal discussions on the amount of financial support for North Korean athletes participating in the Incheon Asian Games, an official here said Thursday.The North has sent a 273-member delegation to the games to open in the South's western port city on Friday.Earlier this week, the organizing committee for the event formally asked the government to use taxpayers' money to financially support the North's participation, the unification ministry official told rep

South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae's upcoming performance at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon was selected as the most anticipated event by spectators here, a survey showed Thursday.The country's top rhythmic gymnast took 25.4 percent of the popularity vote of 3,000 South Koreans in their 20s to 50s, according to the survey by the local polling agency Panel Marketing Interactive (PMI). The 20-year-old gymnast finished fifth in the individual all-around at the world championships last year

South Korean national football squad congratulate themselves after winning against Saudi Arabia in the Asiad on Wednesday.                                                                                  (Yonhap)South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the men's Asiad football match on Wednesday to clinch a berth in the round of 16 at the continental competition.   Winger Kim Seung-dae scored a lucky goal in the first half that went in off an opposing player and South Korea held on for the narro

INCHEON, Sept. 17 (Yonhap) -- As he prepares for what could be the last competition of his equestrian career, South Korean horseback rider Kim Dong-seon would like nothing more than to go out on top.On the sidelines of his training session Tuesday here in Incheon, host of the 2014 Asian Games, Kim expressed hopes for an individual dressage gold medal in equestrian, saying he will follow the lead of his coach.“I do want to claim first place, of course, but so far it hasn‘t been going so well (for

Korean swimming star Park Tae-hwan takes part in a training session ahead of the Asian Games in Incheon on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

As South Korea prepares to defend its baseball gold at the Asian Games starting this week, manager Ryu Joong-il offered a sneak peek into potentially the most devastating lineup in the competition.Ryu has the luxury of having 23 professionals on his 24-man squad, most of them All-Star caliber in the top domestic league, the Korea Baseball Organization.After the team’s first practice in Seoul on Tuesday, Ryu said he will insert his captain, the Nexen Heroes slugger Park Byung-ho, in the cleanup s

Coinciding with the Incheon Asian Games, the inaugural K-pop Expo in Asia will kick off a two-week live music expose to highlight Korean music. With international eyes on Incheon during the two-week sports competition, which starts Friday, Incheon will also host Asia’s biggest K-pop showcase, hoping to attract participants and visitors of the games.“The K-pop Expo is the largest pop expo in Asia, and aims to create a huge festival for the 4.5 billion Asians in the world,” said concert director S

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin received a cortisone injection in his left shoulder on Monday and won’t throw for at least four days.The team said that Ryu had an MRI with dye, which showed no changes from his previous MRI that was done in May.Ryu left his start on Friday after one inning, complaining of tightness and pain in his shoulder. He said the injury felt similar to one that landed him on the disabled list earlier this season. Dodgers’ pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin (AF

In her preparation for the Asian Games, South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae will participate in the world championships next week, hoping to measure herself against the world’s top competition and to build momentum for the continental event. The 2014 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships will start on Monday in Izmir, Turkey. Son aims to score more than 17 points in every apparatus and maintain her edge over her Chinese rival Deng Senyue. (Yonhap)