Korean national sports delegation held Friday their inaugural ceremony for the upcoming Asian Winter Games, which is slated for Jan. 30-Feb. 6 in Kazakhstan.Korea is sending 150 athletes and officials to the games, vowing to accomplish a back-to-back third place finish at the seventh Winter Asiad.Four years ago at Asia’s biggest winter extravaganza in Changchun, China, Korea came in third place be

South Korea’s top men’s doubles badminton duo said on Friday they’re ready to defend their Korea Open championship when the world’s most lucrative badminton event starts next week.The tandem of Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae said they’re looking forward to competing against the world’s best players before home fans, adding they’re going to bear down especially hard.  Lee Yong-dae“There are a lot o

South Korea will meet its old football nemesis Iran in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar, at 1:25 a.m. Sunday, Korean time, for their fifth straight showdown in the final eight of the regional tournament.South Korea’s poor history against Iran ― with no victories in their last six meetings ― has been well-documented. The first loss for Cho Kwang-rae, the current South Korea

NEWPORT, Rhode Island (AFP) ― Eight-time Grand Slam singles champion Andre Agassi, among only seven men to achieve a career Grand Slam, has been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, officials said Thursday.Agassi’s induction ceremony will be conducted July 9 at the Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, during the ATP Hall of Fame Championships grass-court event. He will be the only e

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ― Rafael Nadal’s quest to complete his “Rafa Slam” at the Australian Open started with a first-round victory that lasted only 11 games and certainly helped him conserve plenty of energy.The No. 1-ranked Nadal went straight to the practice courts and worked on his serve, later saying it needs work to improve his chances of winning the Australian title.The 24-year-old Spani

Win over India would assure place in last 8With just one match remaining in the group stage of the 2011 Asian Cup, South Korea is in the position it probably expected to be in ― just needing to defeat India on Tuesday (10:15 p.m. Korean time) to book a place in the last eight. It would be a huge shock if that didn’t happen as the team ranked 40 in the world, according to FIFA, takes on an oppositi

The chief organizer of Korean F1 Grand Prix is planning to sue over his dismissal, a source close to him said Sunday. Chung Young-cho, the head of the Korea Auto Valley Operation, the operating body of F1 Korean Grand Prix, was dismissed from his post following a board meeting on Friday. In an emergency meeting, shareholders of KAVO voted to oust Chung along with two other top officials due to all

Some of the world’s top golfers are to vie for Korea’s biggest golf tournament this April. The world’s No.1 Lee Westwood, three-time major champion Ernie Els, No.10 Ian Poulter and Asia’s first major winner Y.E Yang will be among those competing in the Ballantine’s Championship, organizers announced on Monday.“We are delighted to announce that Westwood, Els, Poulter and Yang will all be competing

PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Ben Roethlisberger hit rookie Antonio Brown on a 58-yard pass play on third-and-19, and Rashard Mendenhall scored from the 2 with 1:33 remaining to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a 31-24 comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC divisional playoff game Saturday.The Steelers, 9-0 against division teams in the playoffs, advance to their fifth AFC championship game in 10 se

South Korean outfielder Choo Shin-soo of Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians has filed for salary arbitration in hopes of getting a large raise following the best season of his career.Choo was among 119 players who filed for arbitration on Saturday, according to Major League Baseball. The left-handed outfielder received $461,100 last year, slightly above the major league minimum, while putti

 AUSTIN, Texas (AFP) ― U.S. Olympic hero Michael Phelps returns to the competition pool for the first time since late August when he races in the Austin Grand Prix long course meeting that starts here Friday.USA Swimming said Phelps was slated to compete in the three-day event, the second of seven events in the domestic Grand Prix series.Ryan Lochte, who earned six short course world titles and se

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Two-time champion Kim Clijsters will play China’s Li Na in the final of the Sydney International after a marathon three-set victory on Thursday.Clijsters struggled early in the heat before storming home in a final set tiebreaker to overcome unseeded Russian Alisa Kleybanova, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) in 2hr 39min.The Belgian third seed will now take on Li, who earlier wore down Serbian qu

Take top 3 spots in ski-jumping event in PyeongChangPYEONGCHANG, Gangwon Province -- Slovenian ski jumper Matjaz Pungertar cleared 135 and 129.5 meters to win the FIS Continental Cup on Thursday at the Alpensia ski jump stadium in PyeongChang. Fellow Slovenian Rok Zima, who claimed second place at the first round Wednesday, finished just 9 points behind the winner after nailing 134 and 128.5 meter