Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThe last South Korean badminton doubles team in play at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics lost its knockout match on Tuesday.Jung Kyung-eun and Shin Seung-chan were eliminated in the semifinals of the women's doubles, as the No. 1-ranked Misaki Matsumoto and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan beat them 2-0 (21-16, 21-15).The No. 5-ranked tandem from South Korea was the last remaining doubles pair for the country in Rio. On Monday, two men's doubles teams, including the top-ranked d

South Korea fell to China in the semifinals of the men's table tennis team event at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Monday. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldIn a rematch of the 2012 Olympic final, China defeated South Korea 3-0, winning the first two singles matches and then the doubles match to complete the shutout. Boasting three of the world's top four male players, China is going for a sweep of table tennis gold medals for the third straight Olympics.South Korea has been relegated to Wednesday's

South Korean star Park In-bee made a hole-in-one during Monday's practice round for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic women's golf tournament. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThe LPGA Hall of Famer, one of four South Koreans in the field for the women's tournament starting Wednesday, picked up the ace at the par-3, 177-yard sixth hole at the Olympic Golf Course."Hopefully, this hole-in-one will be a good omen for the actual tournament," Park told reporters after her round. "I haven't had a lot of aces ei

North Korean gymnast Ri Se-gwang captured his first Olympic gold medal in the men's vault in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThe two-time world champion scored an average of 15.691 points after two attempts to edge out Denis Abliazin of Russia, who had 15.516 points.Kenzo Shirai of Japan took the bronze medal at 15.449 points.Ri's gold medal came in the absence of the 2012 Olympic vault champion from South Korea, Yang Hak-seon. Yang sat out the Rio Games with an Achilles'

South Korean epee fencer Park Sang-young came out of blue to win the men's individual gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, but the 20-year-old said the victory is just a part of his journey, not a destination.Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald"I think the gold medal represents the fruit of my hard work, but not necessarily a life goal," Park said Monday at a press conference for the South Korean media at the Korea House. "I think it's a part of the process that will take me to a bigger goal."I

Before the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong, the top-ranked tandem in men's badminton doubles, had played 662 matches together, winning 545 and losing 117.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldAnd no loss stung quite like the one they suffered on Monday here in Brazil.The No. 12 team from Malaysia, Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong, upset the South Koreans 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 21-19) at Riocentro-Pavilion 4. Lee and Yoo had gone 5-1 against them in the past.The South Koreans barely won

The No. 1-ranked men's badminton duo of Lee Yong-dae and Yoo Yeon-seong suffered a shocking defeat in the quarterfinals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Monday. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThe 12th-ranked Malaysian team of Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong stunned the South Koreans 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 21-19) at Riocentro-Pavilion 4, sending the gold medal favorites packing after just one knockout match.Lee and Yoo had been 5-1 against the Malaysians prior to the Rio Games.The South Koreans were com

The South Korean women's doubles pair of Jung Kyung-eun and Shin Seung-chan advanced to the semifinals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Monday. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldJung and Shin defeated Eefje Muskens and Selena Peik of the Netherlands 2-1 (21-13, 20-22, 21-14). They will face Misaki Matsumoto and Ayaka Takahashi of Japan for a spot in the final.The South Koreans started out fast at Riocentro-Pavilion 4, opening up a 9-2 lead. Soon it was 18-9, with an array of winners and unforced er

The South Korean mixed doubles badminton duo of Ko Sung-hyun and Kim Ha-na got knocked out in the quarterfinals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday.Xu Chen and Ma Jin of China, ranked sixth in the world, defeated the No. 2-ranked South Koreans 2-0 (21-17, 21-18) to reach the final four at Riocentro-Pavilion 4. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldKo and Kim had been 4-2 in their career against Xu and Ma before Sunday.The South Koreans were sloppy from the get-go as the Chinese charged out to an 8-

North Korean weightlifter Kim Kuk-hyang grabbed a silver medal in the women's +75 kilograms weight class at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday.Kim lifted 131 kg to lead the field in snatch, and hoisted 175 kg in clean and jerk for 306 kg total. She finished 1 kg behind Meng Suping of China, who finished 1 kg behind Kim in snatch but lifted 177 kg in her final clean and jerk attempt for the gold. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldSarah Elizabeth Robles was a distant third at 286 kg.Two South Korea

Ham Sang-myeong, the lone South Korean boxer in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, lost in the second round of the men's bantamweight (56kg) class on Sunday.Ham lost to Zhang Jiawei of China in a unanimous decision. The score was 3-0 (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) for the Chinese. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldHam initially came up short in the Olympic qualifying event but got his spot at the last minute when another boxer withdrew from the Rio Games.The South Korean boxer had defeated Zhang for the gold medal