Day: March 11, 2023

SEOUL, Choi Min-jeong grabbed a silver medal at the International Skating Union (ISU) World Short Track Championships in Seoul on Saturday after finishing behind her Dutch rival Suzanne Schulting.

The South Korean Olympic champion placed second in the women’s 1,500 meter finals of the 2023 KB Financial Group ISU World Short Track Speed Skating Championships held at Mokdong Ice Rink in western Seoul.

The 24-year-old came across the line in 2:31.448 behind Schulting despite efforts to overtake her.

Choi sought for another medal through the women’s 500m race but crashed out in the quarterfinals after colliding with Italy’s Chiara Betti.

Her South Korean compatriots, Kim Gilli and Shim Suk-hee, also failed to advance to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, the world championships drew a large crowd, with fans gathering at the ice rink hours before the game to buy tickets.

It marks the first time for the competition to take place in South Korea since 2016.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

TOKYO, South Korea will start right-hander Park Se-woong in a must-win game against the Czech Republic at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Sunday.

The announcement came moments after the Czech Republic’s 10-2 loss to Japan in Pool B action at Tokyo Dome on Saturday night

The Korea-Czech showdown starts at noon Sunday, also at the dome.

South Korea has lost its first two games and must get past the Czech Republic to stay alive in the tournament, or it will crash out of the first round in its third consecutive WBC.

Park, 27, made his WBC debut in a 13-4 loss to Japan on Friday night. In a debacle of a game, Park threw 11 pitches to cover the final 1 1/3 innings and was the only one among 10 Korean pitchers not to allow a base runner.

Park profiles as a groundball pitcher. Among all qualifying pitchers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) last year, the Lotte Giants starter ranked fourth overall with a 1.76 groundout-to-airout ratio. Among homegrown pitchers, only Ko Young-pyo of the KT Wiz, also on the national team, finished ahead of Park.

Park will have to keep powerful Czech hitters in check. A team made up mostly of amateurs who have regular jobs away from baseball, the Czech Republic defeated China 8-5 in its inaugural WBC game, launching two home runs in the process.

It is anyone’s guess who will pitch after Park out of the bullpen. In the first round, pitchers will be capped at 65 pitches, unless they have to complete a plate appearance, and relief pitching will be at a premium.

South Korean relievers have been roughed up in the two losses. In dropping to Australia 8-7 Saturday, South Korean relief pitchers gave up six runs in 4 2/3 innings. Against Japan, nine pitchers that followed starter Kim Kwang-hyun were charged with nine earned runs on 10 hits and six walks.

In order to advance to the quarterfinals as one of the top two teams in Pool B, South Korea must win both of its two remaining games and hope the Czech Republic beats Australia on Monday.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

TOKYO, Japan beat the Czech Republic 10-2 for its third consecutive victory at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Saturday, staying atop its group with one more game left.

Japan overcame an early 1-0 deficit with three runs in the third and four more in the fourth at Tokyo Dome. Japan added another in the bottom fifth and two more in the bottom eighth.

At 3-0, Japan leads Pool B, followed by Australia at 2-0.

The top two teams from the group, which also includes South Korea and China, will move on to the quarterfinals.

South Korea lost its first two games — 8-7 to Australia and 13-4 to Japan. It will next play the Czech Republic, beginning at noon Sunday.

South Korea doesn’t control its own destiny and must have the following events happen just to have a shot at reaching the quarterfinals.

First, South Korea must win its two remaining games. The country also needs Australia to lose its remaining two games over the next two days, and the Czech Republic to beat Australia on Monday.

In that case, Japan will finish first at 4-0, and China will finish last at 0-4. South Korea, Australia and the Czech Republic will all finish at 2-2.

The three tied countries will be ranked using the following criteria until the tie is broken:

1. Lowest quotient of runs allowed divided by the number of defensive outs recorded in games between the tied teams.

2. Lowest quotient of earned runs allowed divided by the number of defensive outs recorded in games between the tied teams.

3. Highest batting average in games between the tied teams.

To win this tiebreaker, the South Koreans must rout the Czechs and hope that the Czechs beat the Australians in a high-scoring game.

Source: Yonhap News Agency