Korean national judo team aims to collect at least two gold medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, sources at the Korea Judo Association (KJA) said Thursday.Korea, the world No. 3 in the Olympic judo medal rankings with 11 gold, 14 silver and 15 bronze medals, will have 12 judokas -- seven men and five women --- in Brazil. This is the first time since the 2004 Athens Olympics that the country failed to send judokas in all weight divisions. In Rio, there will be no South Koreans competin

The head of the national Olympic body said Tuesday he hopes to see banned swimmer Park Tae-hwan race at this year's Summer Games, even as his own organization is barring Park from the competition because of a doping history."To give you my personal opinion, I think it'd be great if Park Tae-hwan could go to the Olympics," said Kim Jung-haeng, president of the Korean Olympic Committee, at a luncheon with former South Korean chief delegates to the Olympics.Kim added that he feels that way because

Injured South Korean gymnast Yang Hak-seon has registered for the upcoming Olympic trials, though his status remains doubtful, officials said Friday.The Korea Gymnastics Association said Yang submitted his entry for the May 21-22 national team trials in Seoul. The 2012 Olympic champion in the men's vault, however, is still recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right foot, sustained during practice on March 23.At the time of the injury, KGA officials said rehab would take three to fou

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan will meet with representatives from the national Olympic committee over his status for this year's Summer Games, a senior sports official has told Yonhap News Agency.Cho Young-ho, secretary-general of the Korean Olympic Committee, on Thursday said Park will visit the KOC's headquarters in Seoul for a meeting at 10 a.m. on May 25.Park's agency, Team GMP, confirmed that Park requested a meeting with the KOC on Tuesday and heard back from the organization about th

Organizers of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Wednesday formally nominated former Commerce Minister Lee Hee-beom as their new president.The PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games made the decision at its executive committee meeting in Seoul, a day after Lee was tapped to replace Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho.Cho abruptly resigned Tuesday to tend to pressing issues at Hanjin Shipping, one of the group‘s affiliates mired in debts.Lee will be o

South Korea marked the 100-day countdown to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics Wednesday with a pledge to put on another strong performance in the medal race.Sports officials and national team athletes who gathered at the National Training Center in northern Seoul for an open house event all expressed their desire to accomplish a common goal: finishing in the top 10 in medals for the fourth consecutive Olympics with at least 10 gold medals."I am certain that all the hard work put in by our

Seoul will mark the 100-day countdown to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics on Wednesday by illuminating its landmark tower in the Brazilian colors, the South American country's mission here said.The Brazilian Embassy said N Seoul Tower on Mount Namsan in central Seoul will be lit up in yellow and green from 6:30 p.m. to midnight.The embassy said landmark monuments in major cities around the world will also be illuminated in those Brazilian colors.This year's Olympics will be held on Aug. 5

South Korea will play every match at the 2016 Olympic men's football tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, like it is their final one, the team's head coach said Tuesday.At a press conference in Seoul marking the 100-day countdown to their first match in Rio, Shin Tae-yong said South Korea will seek to match the country's bronze medal-winning performance at the London Olympics four years ago. It was the country's first-ever medal in Olympic football."I will not say at this moment that we can col

Two-time Olympic speed skating champion Lee Sang-hwa was appointed honorary ambassador for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games on Monday.At a press conference in Seoul, Lee said she was honored to take the role in which she will promote South Korea's first Winter Olympic Games. "I will put my best effort forward to promote the PyeongChang Games as an ambassador and show a good performance as a skater," she said. Lee is the 16th honorary spokesperson for the Winter Games to be held in PyeongChang,

The Summer Olympic Games will take place in South America for the first time this year, as Rio de Janeiro in Brazil will host the 31st edition of the quadrennial competition.The countdown to the Aug. 5-21 Rio Games will reach 100 days Wednesday.The Olympic organizers expect to host 10,500 athletes from 206 countries. Over 17 days, they will take part in 42 sports, including two new additions, golf and rugby.Rio says 32 competition venues will be spread across four regions of the host city: Deodo

As the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro approaches, the head of the country's top training ground called for more public support for Olympic athletes.Choi Jong-sam, who oversees the National Training Center in Seoul, told Yonhap News Agency last week that the athletes gearing up for the Aug. 5-21 event will feed off the energy of enthusiastic fans."There's nothing better than the people's support and backing to boost morale for our athletes," Choi said. "If the country can rally around these

South Korea will aim to collect two wins and a draw to win their group at the 2016 Olympic men's football tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, head coach Shin Tae-yong said on Wednesday.The 16 qualified nations have been divided into four groups of four and the top two nations from each group will qualify for the knockout stage. South Korea are paired with Mexico, Fiji and Germany in Group C.If they reach the quarterfinals, South Korea will face a team from Group D where Argentina, Portugal, Al

Organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang said Tuesday they have launched a program to enhance accessibility in restaurants and hotels in host cities.The Games' organizing committee said in a statement it has released the "Accessibility Recognition Program," whereby the committee will look to increase the number of restaurants and accommodations easily accessible to pregnant, elderly or physically impaired individuals. The committee said it will encourage business owners and operator

Disgraced former Olympic swimming champion Park Tae-hwan will soon return to competition after nearly 18 months away, having recently served his doping suspension, his agency said Monday.Team GMP said Park will race at the 88th Dong-A Swimming Competition starting next Monday in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul. He has registered to compete in the men's 100m, 200m, 400m and 1,500m freestyle races.It will be Park's first competitive appearance since the National Sports Festival in Nove