The world's top table tennis tournament set to take place in South Korea has been postponed for the second time because of the global coronavirus pandemic. Following its executive committee meeting Sunday, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) decided to shelve all international competitions and activities until June 30, 2020. With that, the World Team Table Tennis Championships, which had been slated to run from June 21-28 in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, has been postp

With their season canceled on Tuesday due to the coronavirus outbreak, two coaches tied at the top of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) standings were at a loss for words. "I don't know if I should be congratulated for finishing in first place," said DB Promy head coach Lee Sang-beom, whose team ended up with a 28-15 record identical to the SK Knights. "We didn't win a championship after all." Indeed, the KBL, as it announced the cancellation of the remainder of the regul

The South Korean men's pro basketball season came to an abrupt end on Tuesday, with the coronavirus outbreak forcing a premature finish for the first time in the league's 23-year history. The Korean Basketball League announced Tuesday that the rest of its regular season and playoffs will be scrapped. The largely expected decision was reached during the league's meeting with representatives from its 10 teams. Last Friday, the Women's Korean Basketball League canceled its remaining regular seas

There will be no more women's pro basketball played in South Korea this spring in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The Women's Korean Basketball League decided on Friday to scrap the rest of the regular season, which had been on hold since March 10, and to also wipe out the playoffs. With all other major professional sports -- men's basketball, baseball, men's football and men's and women's volleyball -- having come to a halt due to COVID-19, the WKBL became the first league to cancel it

The national volleyball governing body has put off deciding the fate of the suspended professional season, amid increasing calls for cancellation in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. 　The Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) met with representatives from 13 men‘s and women’s V-League teams on Thursday, and the only agreement that came out of the meetings was that they will meet again soon to reach a conclusion, one way or the other. 　 　The three-plus hours of talks had some team

A national fencing player has tested positive for the novel coronavirus after participating in a competition in Europe, the sport's governing body said Wednesday. The Korean Fencing Federation said it received the COVID-19 test result of the 25-year-old female fencer of the national squad, whose identity is being withheld, early in the day. She returned to South Korea on Sunday after participating in a contest in Hungary. The fencer, who complained of a sore throat during her stay in Hungary,

TOKYO (AFP) -- The collapse of sports events worldwide over the rapidly spreading new coronavirus heaped pressure on the Tokyo Olympics on Friday as US President Donald Trump suggested delaying the Games by a year. Formula One's Australian Grand Prix and The Players Championship, one of golf's most prestigious events, were the latest to fall in a period when the virus has laid waste to the sporting calendar. Football's Premier League, with a worldwide audience of billions, is also in question

Outbreaks of the novel coronavirus have brought major international sports competitions to an abrupt halt this week, and South Korean athletes plying their trades overseas have been affected as well. Major League Baseball has canceled the remainder of spring training games, and the start of the new regular season will be delayed by at least two weeks. The Opening Day was originally set for March 26. Four South Korean big leaguers were in camp this year, a contingent led by Ryu Hyun-jin of the

The South Korean men's professional basketball league announced Monday that its regular season, halted since the weekend due to the new coronavirus, will resume at the end of this month. Following its emergency board meeting, the Korean Basketball League (KBL) said its 10 teams will be back in action starting March 29. To help curb the spread of the virus, the KBL first started playing regular season games behind closed doors last Wednesday. But on Saturday, it decided to put the season on h

The short track speed skating world championships scheduled to take place in Seoul will be pushed toward the end of the year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the sport's world governing body said Monday. The International Skating Union (ISU) had already postponed the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, originally set for March 13-15 in the South Korean capital, indefinitely last week. Citing concerns about the developments surrounding COVID-19, the ISU said Monday that rescheduling

A Serbian basketball player has decided to leave the South Korean league over fears of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus in the country, becoming the second foreign athlete in as many days to make the jump. The Goyang Orion of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) said Thursday that their center Boris Savovic told them he'd like to leave South Korea to be with his pregnant wife. He joins KT Sonicboom player Allen Durham in what could turn out to be an exodus of foreign athletes from South Kor

A US basketball player decided to quit playing in the professional league here due to fast-spreading novel coronavirus, his club said Wednesday, sparking concerns of a possible exodus of foreign athletes in the country. Busan KT Sonicboom of the Korean Basketball League said that Allen Durham will not play the remainder of the season and will return home to the United States on Thursday. The Sonicboom said Durham, who joined the team last month, decided to leave South Korea after the countr

BELGRADE -- South Korea will be competing in the Olympic women's basketball tournament for the first time in a dozen years this summer. South Korea grabbed the third and the final qualifying spot the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in a four-nation competition that wrapped up on Sunday in Belgrade, finishing behind China and Spain. Britain finished in last place as the only winless team. South Korea lost to China 100-60 Sunday afternoon at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in the Serbian capital to finish at 1-2 i

Budding South Korean figure skaters will go up against some of the sport's biggest stars at an international competition on home ice this week. The Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, organized by the International Skating Union (ISU), will run from Thursday to Sunday at Mokdong Ice Rink in Seoul. Skaters from Asia, the Americas, Oceania and Africa -- four of the continents represented by the Olympic Rings -- will compete in four disciplines: men's singles, ladies' singles, pairs and

LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- Conor McGregor made a triumphant return to the UFC octagon on Saturday, pummelling Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone for a technical knockout victory in just 40 seconds.The mixed martial arts superstar from Ireland -- returning to the Ultimate Fighting Championship for the first time since he was battered into submission by arch-rival Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018 -- overpowered his American foe without ever being tested.After charging in with a left and missing, McGre