South Korea made Olympic archery history at the Rio de Janeiro Games on Friday -- which is  saying something because the country seems to have been doing that for decades.Ku Bon-chan won the men's individual gold medal, beating Jean-Charles Valladont of France 7-3 (30-28, 28-26, 29-29, 28-29, 27-26).With Ku's victories, South Korea captured all four archery titles in Rio, an unprecedented feat in Olympic history. South Korea now has 23 archery gold medals, easily tops among all nations.South Kor

North Korean Olympic weightlifting champion Om Yun-chol may have falsified his age, a report said.Om, the 2012 Olympic champion in the men's 56kg who took silver at the ongoing Rio de Janeiro Games, is listed as 24, born on Nov.18, 1991.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldHowever, The New York Times reported on Thursday that a book titled "Olympic Champions Who Bring Glory to the Motherland," published in Pyongyang in 2014, cites Om's birth year as 1990.The newspaper said it could have been a simple m

Both of South Korea's medals on Thursday at the Rio de Janeiro Games came from archery, which became the country's most successful Olympic sport.Chang Hye-jin captured the women's individual gold medal over Lisa Unruh of Germany, bringing home its 22nd Olympic archery title. Archery has overtaken short track speedskating, where the country has won 21 gold medals.Chang defeated her teammate Ki Bo-bae in the semifinals. Ki, the 2012 individual champion, settled for the bronze medal this time.Park

For Ki Bo-bae, the gold in women's individual archery at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics would have meant so much to history.She would have become the first archer to capture two gold medals in two straight Olympics. A South Korean woman has won every individual gold but one since 1984 but mainly because of the depth in the national talent pool, no one has won in consecutive Olympics.And Ki certainly had her chances. In the semifinals against teammate and eventual champion Chang Hye-jin, Ki couldn't

Scoring the first goal will be the key for South Korea against Honduras in the Olympic men's football quarters, the team's coach said Thursday.South Korea and Honduras will meet at 7 p.m. Saturday at Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, some 340 kilometers north of Rio de Janeiro, for a spot in the final four in the men's football tournament.As South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong sees it, getting on the board first is more important than anything.Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald"We have to play with a lead so

Chang Hye-jin, who won the women's individual archery gold at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Thursday, barely missed out on the London Games national team four years ago.She finished fourth, one spot shy, in the national team trials -- notoriously competitive because of the country's depth in archery talent -- and the close call would have crushed someone less determined.Instead, Chang humbly accepted the result and got to work."I've never given up and I've always stayed positive," Chang said af

South Korean archer Chang Hye-jin captured the gold medal in the women's individual archery at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Thursday.Chang defeated Lisa Unruh of Germany by the set score of 6-2 (27-26, 26-28, 27-26, 28-27).Each set consists of three arrows per archer. A set win is worth two points and a draw is one point. The first to six points wins the match. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThis was Chang's second gold in Rio. She had earlier helped South Korea to the team gold medal. She is t

South Korean archer Ki Bo-bae won the bronze medal in the women's individual archery at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Thursday.Ki defeated Alejandra Valencia of Mexico by the set score of 6-4 (26-25, 28-29, 26-25, 21-27, 30-25). Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldEach set consists of three arrows per archer. A set win is worth two points and a draw is one point. The first to six points wins the match.Ki, who was trying to win her second straight individual gold medal, lost to compatriot Chang Hye-ji

Top-ranked South Korean archer Choi Mi-sun was stunned in the quarterfinals of the individual event at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Thursday.Alejandra Valencia of Mexico upset the world No. 1 by the set score of 6-0 (25-23, 29-26, 29-27) to advance to the semis. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldEach set consists of three arrows per archer. A set win is worth two points and a draw is one point. The first to six points wins the match.Choi shot a disastrous 5 with her first arrow, and hit just one 1

Though he has competed in his share of big events, South Korean golfer An Byeong-hun said he was still a nervous wreck standing on the first tee in the opening round of men's golf at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Thursday.The 24-year-old was able to calm himself in time to card in a three-under 68 at par-71, 7,128-yard Olympic Golf Course, a solid performance that put him near the top of the leader board when his day was done."I am satisfied with the score," An said after teeing off in the firs

The South Korean women's epee fencing team, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist, lost its first match at the Rio de Janeiro Games on Thursday.The trio of Shin A-lam, Choi In-jeong and Kang Young-mi lost to the Estonian team of Erika Kirpu, Irina Embrich and Julia Beljajeva 27-26 at Carioca Arena 3. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldShin and Choi were members of the silver medal-winning team at the 2012 London Olympics, but they played just one match before packing.Shin, Choi and Kang also failed to win

Both of the South Korean players went under par in the opening round of men's golf at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Thursday.An Byeong-hun traded seven birdies with four bogeys for a three-under 68 on the par-71, 7,128-yard Olympic Golf Course. Wang Jeung-hun managed three birdies but also had a double bogey en route to a one-under 70 on a sunny and windy day. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldAn was in the first group to tee off at 7:30 a.m. with Adilson da Silva of Brazil and Graham Delaet of Can

Former Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan has left Rio de Janeiro empty-handed.Park departed for South Korea on Thursday, having failed to win a medal at his fourth Olympics here in Brazil. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldHe didn't make it out of the heats in each of his three races -- the 400m, 200m and 100m freestyle -- and withdrew from the 1,500m freestyle scheduled for Saturday.Park, the 2008 gold medalist and 2012 silver medalist in the 400m free, finished 10th in the heats and didn't q

South Korean Olympic women's golf coach Pak Se-ri said Thursday the key to her team's performance is to keep the pressure off the four players.Pak, a World Golf Hall of Famer and a five-time LPGA champion, arrived in Rio de Janeiro earlier in the day with the women's competition set to start next Wednesday.She told reporters at Galeao International Airport her previously stated goal hasn't changed -- a podium sweep.(Yonhap)"The objective is obviously to win gold, silver and bronze, but I think m

Table tennis player Kim Song-i delivered North Korea's fourth medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Wednesday as she finished third in the women's singles competition. (AFP-Yonhap)Kim defeated Ai Fukuhara of Japan 4-1 (11-7, 11-7, 11-5, 12-14, 11-5) in the bronze medal contest of women's table tennis singles at the Rio Games. This is the first time since 2004 that North Korea has collected a medal in women's table tennis singles. At the Athens Games, Kim Hyang-mi won the silver medal. Kim will