Archive
Striker Park Chu-young Likely to Join Celta Vigo in Spain on Loan
There is a growing possibility that Arsenal’s Park Chu-young will move to Celta Vigo in Spain’s La Liga on loan.
Spanish media reported that he will travel to the club to undergo medical on Friday before the deal is finalized.
Celta Vigo were newly promoted to the top league at the start of this season, currently sitting at 18th place among 20 teams.
Vigo reportedly plan to acquire Park on a loan for 1 million euros and push for a permanent move a year later.
Interview With Sports Illustrated girl Jarah Mariano
Far and few models have a story as academically compelling as that of Jarah Mariano.
The Hawaii-born and Cali-raised Jarah is a stunning beauty, and although she has been modeling since the age of 15, she made sure her college backup plan was steady in place. With a flourishing career that’s allowed her to be featured in Sports Illustrated and Victoria’s Secret, just to name a few, she hasn’t had to cash in on her Pace University education just yet.
GlobalGrind had the pleasure of catching up with the lovely Jarah to learn a little more about her and of course, to learn about what she dances to in her underwear!
Not just for her beauty, but for her brains as well, we are proud to call the gorgeous Jarah Mariano one of the sexiest girls in the world.
Check out the exclusive interview with Jarah below and be sure to check out her sexiest photos in the gallery above.
First things to know about Jarah Mariano:
I was born on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Raised in Southern California, Orange County. I’m half Korean, 25 percent Native Hawaiian and 25 percent unknown…
via Exclusive Interview With Jarah Mariano (PHOTOS) | Global Grind.
Rhythmic Gymnast Son Yeon-Jae, One of 11 Beauties for London Olympics
South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-Jae has been named one of the 11 most beauriful athletes for this years London Olympics. Pantene, global hair care brand under Procter & Gamble, which is official sponsor of the 2012 Games, selected 11 of 4,800 female London Olympic athletes to name them its brand ambassadors.
The other beauties include worlds No. 1 rhythmic gymnast Evgenia Kanaeva from Russia; Brazilian volleyball player Jaqueline Carvalho, British cyclist and 2008 Olympics gold medalist Victoria Pendleton, Canadian swimmer Annamay Pierse, American swimmer Natalie Coughlin, and Australian swimmer Emily Seebohm.
They also include Japanese swimmer Aya Terakawa, Chinese diver Wu Minxia, Mexican diver Paola Espinosa , Argentine tennis ace Gisela Dulko.
ProfileName: Son Yeon Jae 孙妍在 손연재
Date of birth: May 28, 1994 Place of birth: Seoul, Korea
Height: 162 cmWeight: 38 kg
Through the years, Korean sports have always been blessed with charismatic icons and winning stars. Theres Park Tae-Hwan, the 2008 Olympics gold medalist for swimming, Jang Mi-Ran, also an Olympic gold medalist for weightlifting, Park Ji-Sung, Manchester Uniteds midfielder and team captain of South Koreas football national team, and last but definitely not the least, Koreas most popular sport personality today, figure skater par excellence – Kim Yu-Na.
And theres Son Yeon-Jae. Many of you might not recognize her name yet but shes the newest kid on the block in Korean sports today that is being projected as the next biggest thing. Gifted with talent and beauty, 16 year old gymnast Son Yeon-Jae has been the poster child of South Koreas rhythmic gymnastics junior team for a few years now. She first gained attention when she placed 5th in the 2007 Slovenia Junior Gymnastics World Cup beating many of her more experienced Eastern European counterparts.She also dominated her events winning the rope, hoop, clubs, individual, and team contests at the Korea Gymnastics Associations national junior rhythmic gymnastics competition held in Gimpo, South Korea last year.
Last month, in her first senior level competition, Yeon-Jae participated at the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup held in Kalamata, Greece. She earned a respectable 12th place finish in the all-round individual section tallying a final score of 98.45 points. She is expected to perform well this year at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in November.In her recent interview, Yeon-Jae cites Kim Yu-Na as her idol and hopes to follow her footsteps winning prestigious events and competitions and giving Korean sports fame and recognition in the international arena. She is also eyeing a slot in the upcoming 2012 London Olympics where she hopes to win an Olympic gold and bring to Korea its first ever gold medal for individual rhythmic gymnastics.
Gisele Dulka
Jaqueline Carvalho
Paula Espinosa
Evgenia Kanaeva
Victoria Pendleton
Video: 2012 London Olympics recap: South Korean Rhythmic Gymnast Yeon Jae Son with Ball in finals
2012 London Olympics – Japan takes bronze in Olympic women’s volleyball over South Korea
LONDON (AP) — Saori Sakoda spiked Japan back to the Olympic podium in women’s volleyball.
Sakoda scored 23 points, including the match-winning kill, in Japan’s straight-set victory over South Korea for the bronze medal at the London Games.
The victory ended a medal drought for Japan that dated to the 1984 Los Angeles Games, where the team also won the bronze. The Japanese join Russia with six total medals in women’s volleyball, which joined the Olympics in 1964.
When Sakoda finally left the floor at Earls Court after a long celebration of the 25-22, 26-24, 25-21 win, she was swamped by photographers and well-wishers like a rock star. She bowed to her admirers.
“Quite simply, happy,” she said.
Japan has won gold in women’s volleyball twice, in the sport’s Olympic debut in Tokyo and at the 1976 Montreal Games. The team also won silver at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and bronze in 1984.
South Korea’s best result in Olympic play was a bronze in 1976.
Kim Yeon-koung, the leading scorer in London, had 22 points for No. 15 South Korea. She finished the tournament with 207 total points.
“I believe that throughout this tournament the level of Korean volleyball has gone to the next level,” Kim…
via Japan takes bronze in Olympic women’s volleyball – Yahoo! Sports.
2012 London Olympics – Gymnastics: UFO spotting leaves South Korean Son Yeon-jae red faced
Aug 10 (Reuters) – There were plenty of multi-coloured ribbons and florescent clubs flying through the air at Wembley Arena on Friday but when South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae was out to impress the judges with her juggling act, a UFO was suddenly spotted.
Was it a piece of confetti, or a small bouquet of flowers thrown in by an admirer in the audience? No it was Son’s ballet shoe that had gone flying off her feet as she performed a fast-paced pirouette during her crowd-pleasing Olympic clubs routine.
Looking rather sheepish, she reclaimed the runaway shoe at the end of her performance and a score of 26.350 made sure she stayed in the running for a medal as she made the cut for Saturday’s final, which will feature the top 10 qualifiers.
“I was very embarrassed as it’s never happened to me before,” the 18-year-old, still a little red-faced from the episode, told reporters after finishing sixth.
“I got a little tense and started sweating and the shoe simply slipped off.”
Leading the way was 2008 champion
via Olympics-Gymnastics-UFO leaves South Korean red faced | Reuters.
2012 London Olympics – Soccer: Park Chu-Young and South Korea beats Japan for bronze in soccer
South Korea’s soccer players won bronze with a 2-0 win over Japan, but many admitted they were also celebrating an even greater prize: the chance to skip military service.
Medal winners in South Korea are exempted from the 21-months of duty that their fellow countrymen must do before they are 29 because their endeavors are seen as benefiting the country.
The victory and military service exemption removes a major hurdle faced by many other top Korean footballers to pursuing a career in European leagues.
‘‘I’m very happy to win the bronze medal and everybody here will now get a new chance by being exempted from military service,” said striker Park Chu-young, who scored a stunning first goal.
The bronze was South Korea’s first soccer medal. Japan has also won just one medal — also a bronze — in 1968, the last time an Asian team got an Olympic award.
via South Korea beats Japan for bronze in soccer – The Boston Globe.
2012 London Olympics – TaeKwonDo: Lee Dae-hoon wins silver in men’s under-58㎏ taekwondo
Lee Dae-hoon (right)
LONDON — Lee Dae-hoon won silver in the men’s under-58-kilogram taekwondo competition Wednesday at the London Olympics.
Lee lost to Joel Gonzalez Bonilla of Spain 17-8 in the men’s lightest weight division. This was the first day of taekwondo at this year’s Olympics.
Lee, 20, came up just shy of completing taekwondo’s equivalent of a grand slam. He holds a title from each of the following events: the World Championships, the Asian Games and the Asian Championships. All three titles have come within the past two years.
Lee had a bumpy road to the final Wednesday. He needed decisive, sudden death points to get past both Pen-Ek Karaket of Thailand in the round of 16 and then Tamer Bayoumi of Egypt in the quarters. In the semis, Lee squeezed past Alexey Denisenko of Russia 7-6.
Olympic taekwondo bouts are held over three periods, each two minutes long. If the score is tied after those six minutes, the fighters enter the sudden-death fourth period, where the first to score wins.
Lee won the 2011 world title in the…
Disqualified Chinese, Indonesian and Korean badminton players unfairly punished for throwing games, Michele Li pushed forward as replacement
LONDON Reflecting on the decision of four badminton teams to throw their games here in order to get a better playoff draw, the face of London 2012 spent Wednesday wagging his finger.
“Depressing. Who wants to sit through something like that?” LOCOG chief Sebastian Coe moaned. “It is unacceptable.” It’s an unseemly thing for him to say.
Coe long ago retired from athletics, and instead switched over to a job in sales. It’s no longer within his competence to judge what is or isn’t ethically acceptable behaviour for people who still need to win in order to pay their rent.
Hours later, the discipline’s governing body cravenly capitulated to public opinion (most of that public presumably having never watched a game of badminton before in their lives).
Four teams, including the defending world champions, were tossed from the badminton competition for the sin of playing the long game instead of the short one.
What’s not at issue here is that games were thrown.
The four pairs — two from South Korea, and one each from China and Indonesia — embarked on an amusing journey into true amateurism Tuesday night.
Over and over, they smashed the shuttlecock into the net. They put easy shots well wide. No rally lasted more than four returns.
How would you look competing in the Olympics? Now you know.
All four pairs were trying to ease their draw going into the knockout round, where lesser teams play each other before they meet the powerhouses. The Chinese, who have used this strategy for years on the world badminton stage, wanted to ensure their entrants could not meet before the gold-medal match.
They’re out now. Four inferior teams, including a Canadian pair, were pushed forward as replacement cannon fodder. Problem not quite solved.
That’s the silver lining to this thing — playing another surprise entrant, Australia, Canadians Alex Bruce and Michele Li advanced to Thursday’s semis. They’re one win from a medal. You’re happy for them, but just because it broke right for us doesn’t make it fair.
If anyone’s to blame, it is organizers who decided to make this competition a round robin instead of a straight elimination. You want maximum effort? You make every match count. Otherwise, you introduce gamesmanship into the mix.
The ticket-buying public was upset. Vocally so inside
via TheSpec – Disqualified badminton players unfairly punished for….
2012 London Olympics – Fencing: Controversy forces Korean to sit on piste for ages, eventually costs her medal
The Olympic fencing tournament was thrown into an incredibly emotional, dramatic and elongated controversy when a semifinal bout of the women’s individual epee competition was won on a final touch with 1 second remaining and the losing fencer launched an appeal of the decision which eventually cost her a place on the podium.
Yet it was the appeal of the decision itself which led to incredibly acrimony and one of the lengthiest delays in recent Olympic memory. Here’s how everything unfolded:
With time running out in one of the two semifinal matches for the women’s individual epee competition, South Korea’s Shin A Lam led Germany’s Britta Heidermann by a single point. Officially, Heidermann had just one second to launch an attack and score a touch, which would advance her on to the gold medal match to face the Ukraine’s Yana Shemyakina, a lack of time which all but ensured that Shin would advance.
Instead, the timing mechanism on the piste became stuck, giving Heidermann extra time to complete her attack and win the bout, which earned her the spot in the gold medal bout. Officials, unsure what to do without a true, official protocol to follow, eventually decided to award the victory to Heidermann.
As one might expect, Shin and her coaches were enraged with the decision, and launched an immediate appeal. Yet the appeal itself proved to be incredibly lengthy and also contained a unique bylaw that required Shin to remain on the piste throughout its duration. Unable to leave the playing surface, Shin bawled uncontrollably for the first 10-15 minutes, often shading her head in a towel while occasionally looking out to the crowd before rubbing her eyes again.
At long last, after more than 30 minutes of a delay that included the Korean federation having to expedite a payment for the use in the official appeal, Shin’s attempt to overturn the result failed. That brought a crushing end to a ridiculously long period marked by piquant discussion between Olympic and Korean officials and occasional announcements trying to explain what was going on to the spectators in the crowd.
Clearly, Shin should have had a chance for the gold medal; if the timing mechanism didn’t get stuck, the clock would have run out and she would have advanced. Yet denying Heidermann a shot without some kind of a playoff-style bout might have been equally cruel.
2012 London Olympics – Weightlifting: North Korea’s Om Yun Chol lifts 3 times his body weight to win Gold, attributes success to ‘Great Leader’
LONDON — North Korea’s Om Yun Chol joined an exclusive group of weightlifters Sunday who have lifted three times their body weight in the clean and jerk — and in the process won the gold in the first upset of the weightlifting competition at the London Olympics. According to Om, it was all thanks to the “Great Leader.”
The 20-year-old Om, who stands just 1.52 meters tall, also set an Olympic record when he cleared 168 kilograms in the clean and jerk in the men’s 56-kilogram category — and immediately gave all the credit to late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
“How can any man possibly lift 168kg? I believe the great Kim Jong Il looked over me,” Om was quoted as saying by the Olympic News Service.
Om’s achievement was even more impressive considering he was competing in the “B’’ group with lower-ranked lifters. Medal contenders generally compete in the “A’’ group which took place later in the day.
Double world champion and pre-competition favorite Wu Jiangbiao of China had to settle for the silver medal while European Champion Valentin Hristov of Azerbaijan got the bronze.
2012 London Olympics – Soccer: South Korea 2-1 Switzerland: Chu-Young Park and Bo-Kyung Kim with goals
South Korea put themselves in a commanding position to qualify from Group B of the Olympic football tournament as they defeated Switzerland 2-1 in an enthralling contest at the Coventry City Stadium.
Arsenal’s Chu-Young Park put the Asian side in front early in the second half only to see Innocent Emeghara level minutes later.
However, the game was eventually settled midway through the second period by a magnificent volley from Bo-Kyung Kim.
Both sides went into the contest looking for their first win of the tournament after draws against Mexico and Gabon respectively. Chu-Young lead the line for the Koreans, who made no changes to their starting eleven.
And it was Chu-Young who had the game’s first real chance, as his header from a far post corner was brilliantly turned away by Diego Benaglio.
The Koreans dominated a half of few chances, with Chu-Young at the forefront of most of their attacks. The former Monaco man almost benefited from a defensive lapse as a through ball deflected into his path off the legs of Fabian Schaer but Benaglio showed good reactions again to deny the striker from close range.
In spite of some attractive and well constructed play, the Koreans were unable to…
via South Korea 2-1 Switzerland: Park and Kim leave Swiss with a mountain to climb – Yahoo! Sports.
South Korea draws Mexico in football opener at London Olympics
NEWCASTLE (Yonhap) — South Korea played Mexico to a scoreless draw in the opening men’s football match at the London Olympics here Thursday.
In the Group B contest at St. James’ Park, both teams played a lackluster opening half, but South Korea began the second half with a bit more juice. In the 50th minute, winger Kim Bo-kyung curled one past the left post from the top of the arc.
In the 52nd, captain Koo Ja-cheol sent the ball just above the crossbar after taking a headed pass deep in the Mexico box. Another two minutes later, Koo teed it up for the charging midfielder Ki Sung-yueng, whose cannon of a shot was barely kept out by Jose Corona in net…
via S. Korea draws Mexico in football opener at London Olympics.
Shinji Kagawa has revealed how Park Ji-Sung has spurred him on to be a success at Manchester United
“Watching him play for United motivated me a lot. I began to truly believe Asian players could play in big clubs,” says Japan international
‘I will focus every day on training and do my best to stay here a long time’: Shinji Kagawa is determined to be a success at Manchester United
Shinji Kagawa has revealed how Park Ji-Sung has spurred him on to be a success at Manchester United.
Japan midfielder Kagawa, a £17million buy from Borussia Dortmund, scored his first goal for United in Wednesday’s 1-0 pre-season friendly win over Shanghai Shenhua.
Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Kagawa as the player who can make the difference for United this season, linking the midfield and attack with his energy, craft and goal threat.
But Kagawa said he still has a long way to go to emulate Park, Asia’s biggest player, who left United for QPR this summer after seven years at Old Trafford. “This is only the beginning for me,” said Kagawa.
“But Park Ji-Sung is the best player Asia has ever produced – there’s no doubt about that. He played regularly for United for a long time and I can’t be sure how long it will take me to establish myself in the team like him. But I will always work hard to do so.”
“Watching him play for United motivated me a lot. I began to truly believe Asian players could play in big clubs. I was expecting we could help each other and play together at United. It’s a shame that he left. But, like Park, I will focus every day on training and do my best to stay here a long time.”
Shin-Soo Choo hits his 12th homerun of the season to lead Cleveland to victory
Shin-Soo Choo provided the decisive shot for Cleveland, socking a two-run home run in the third inning.
Casey Kotchman reached base in the third inning on an infield single. Two batters later, Choo crushed a high cutter over the right-field fence to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.
Cleveland picked up an insurance run in the eighth. Choo led off with a single and Cabrera hit a grounder off of Hunter for a base hit, chasing Hunter from the game. Troy Patton entered and Jason Kipnis dropped down a bunt single to load the bases. Michael Brantley shot a base hit past a drawn-in infield to plate Choo.
via The Sports Network – Major League Baseball.
Gymnast Son Yeon-jae placed 9th at Minsk World Cup
.jpg)
Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae was placed ninth overall in the individual World Rhythmic Gymnastics Cup at the Minsk Sports Palace, Belarus, Saturday.
Son earned a total of 109.725 points, scoring 28.050 using the hoop, 26.300 for the ball, 27.250 with the club and 28.125 in the ribbon. Although she failed to reach the final for the all-around competition, contested by just the top eight, the 18-year-old made it to the final for the individual hoop and ribbon events finishing sixth and seventh in those categories respectively.
Russia’s Yevgeniya Kanayeva was the overall leader with 118.650 points and the 2008 Beijing Olympics individual gold medallist is the favorite for the London Olympics.
Despite impressive performances in the hoop and ribbon, Son dropped the ball when trying to catch it behind her back and ended awkwardly, out of sync with the music after picking it up off the mat. Her club display wasn’t good enough to offset the mistake.
“Although Son didn’t reach the final due to the Russians’ dominance, her rank is practically eighth regarding the fact that only two from each country will participate in the Olympics,” an official from IB Sports, the Korean gymnast’s agency, said in a media interview.
The result means a lot to Son just before she heads to the London Olympics. Reducing potential mistakes will be critical if she is to vie for a medal. At the Summer Games, 24 gymnasts will participate in the all-round section and only half will make it to the finals.
In April, Son impressed local fans by winning the nation’s first bronze medal at a World Cup gymnastics meet in Penza, Russia, raising hopes for a medal at the Summer Games.
Son, who qualified for the Olympics by finishing 11th in the individual all-around at last year’s World Championships, will compete for the nation’s first medal in the gymnastics in London.
Can Asian coaches make their mark in the West?
In 2007, Choi Yon-Kyum, head coach of South Korea’s Daejeon Citizen, went for a drink with his assistant and ended up attacking him with a beer glass. The victim needed 18 stitches. Although the CEO and most fans wanted Choi to stay, he left the K-League club to join the coaching staff at a Turkish club. It provided a rare example of a coach from Asia trying his luck in Europe.
The world’s biggest continent has started sending its players to the West, but tacticians have yet to follow in their footsteps. Asia is not alone in this – apart from the Brazilians and a smattering of other South Americans, coaches from Africa and North America are not exactly flooding Europe. One day this will change, but the questions for Asia are when, how and, of course, who.
Park Ji-Sung recently said that it may take only ten years for an Asian team to win the World Cup, but it may take longer to see Koreans, Japanese or Iranians jabbing fingers in the direction of Sir Alex Ferguson and answering post-match questions from Sky Sports reporters. The timing is not yet right – a quick look around reveals that. When you have many Asian nations preferring to appoint foreign coaches over domestic talent, getting noticed overseas can be next to impossible.
China, currently the most talked about and highest-attended league in the continent, trusts its own coaching stock so little that the new season started with all but three of the 16 clubs in the top-flight in foreign hands. Excited as it was about the new campaign, even the Beijing media found time to fret about the lack of opportunities as well as the money handed to the locals. At the start of the season, Jean Tigana and his staff at Shanghai Shenhua were getting paid around 40 times more than Zhu Jiong and his crew at local rivals Shenxin. Shanghai may showcase the rising economic inequality in China more starkly than any other Chinese city, but this was going too far.
At least Chinese clubs do their bit for Asia, if not the Middle Kingdom, by issuing work visas to a number of Korean coaches – who historically have travelled farther and wider around the continent than their Asian counterparts – as well as the occasional Australian and Japanese boss. That is not the case when it comes to the big clubs in Dubai, Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi. The Arabian giants of West Asia look to Europe and South America as a matter of course. Just two domestic coaches finished the season in the Saudi top-flight, a pattern that is repeated across much of the region.
Even those Asian coaches who have enjoyed success on the global stage struggle for global recognition. In the modern era, only two have taken teams past the first round of the World Cup, but neither Huh Jung-Moo of South Korea and Japan’s Takeshi Okada ever really appeared on the European radar. Adnan Hamad is perhaps the most-respected Asian coach but the Iraqi is even less well-known internationally.
Last summer, ESPN asked Lee Young-Pyo, the South Korean star who played for PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham Hotspur, Borussia Dortmund and now Vancouver Whitecaps, if an Asian coach could make it to the big leagues. “At the moment, European footballers don’t want to learn or listen to an Asian coach, but 15 or 20 years later, when Europe accepts that Asian football is strong, it can happen,” Lee said. “For example, at Tottenham, if I talked to youth players and gave them advice, they listened to me, but if I wasn’t playing in the first team, they would never have listened. When we develop more and can teach something to European players then it can change, but not now.”
The export of players to Europe can be the catalyst. This is how to catch the attention of western CEOs, journalists, fans and players. Asian coaches have barriers to overcome but, if they have been successful in Europe as a player, many are removed.
Park Ji-Sung could be the one. Seven seasons and serious success at Manchester United under Ferguson was preceded by over four years with Guus Hiddink at PSV Eindhoven and South Korea. A European, English and Dutch champion, not to mention World Cup semi-finalist, Park, already lauded for his tactical intelligence, would surely have no problem getting the dressing room to listen. Unfortunately, he is…
via Duerden: Can Asian coaches make their mark in the West? – ESPN Soccernet.
Choo doubles twice to help Indians beat Rays 3-2
Shin-Soo Choo had an RBI double in the third after he had what initially was ruled a home run overturned by instant replay in the first for Cleveland.
The umpires huddled after Rays center fielder B.J. Upton signaled that the ball hit high off the wall instead of clearing it and bouncing back onto the field. Choo was sent back to second base and eventually scored on a passed ball that gave the Indians an early lead on Alex Cobb 4-6.
Choo scored again in the third when Jason Kipnis doubled to make it 3-0. The Indians squandered several chances to break the game open, going 2 for 12 with runners in scoring position.
via Choo doubles twice to help Indians beat Rays 3-2 – Canton, OH – CantonRep.com.
Muscle Spasm To Blame For Dong Hyun Kim’s Recent Loss To Demian Maia
Brian Rhee, the manager and translator for UFC welterweight Dong Hyun Kim, informed members of The Underground that his fighter suffered a muscle spasm that was to blame for his loss to Demian Maia at UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II.
“As they were tied up, somehow (Kim) got a muscle spasm in hi side. He told his corner that something was wrong. Kim defended Maia’s takedown attempts for a while, but by the time they got to the other side of the Octagon, he was in too much pain. The position in which the injury happened is the kind that happens in training all the time, but for some reason, it caused a severe muscle spasm in this particular time,” Rhee said. “It truly was a freak accident.”
Many thought that Kim may have suffered a broken rib when Maia went for the takedown, but it appears that wasn’t he case. Either way, Maia was awarded his first victory at welterweight since deciding to drop down from the middleweight ranks.
The defeat was just the second of Kim’s career, with the first coming by knockout against Carlos Condit back in 2011.
via Muscle Spasm To Blame For Dong Hyun Kim's Recent Loss To Demian Maia – FightLine.com.
Yu-na Kim to compete in 2014 Winter Olympics
The figure skating queen smiled comfortably. She said that she missed the ice and cannot give up being an athlete. Yu-na Kim, 22, said, “I will participate in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and then I will retire” Kim revealed her plan to continue her job as an athlete at a press conference at Taereung Training Center. People anticipated that Yu-na Kim would quit amateur athletic competition to skate professionally and focus on her endorsement work. Her plans to compete in Sochi were a surprise to some.
“After I won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, I didn’t have a clear goal as an athlete. I didn’t prepare for the season last year and it was a relaxing break for me. I will go to Sochi as a South Korean champion. I think my fans will raise me up when I am on the ice rink. When I was little I imagined a gold medal in Vancouver as the end of my athletic career, but now that has changed. I would like to round off my long career with a complete victory in Sochi.”
Behind the difficult decision, one can see Kim’s ambition to fulfill her duty as an elite athlete. Yu-na Kim first wore skates when she was 7, became a celebrity as a world Junior grand prize final second runner up, and in 2005 became the first Korean to win a silver medal at the world championships. Kim’s success won her many fans and plenty of affection. “After I won a gold medal my fans…
via Yu-na Kim to compete in 2014 Olympics : Arts & Entertainment : Home.
Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung: I Will End Jose Aldo’s ‘Reign as a Champion’
Park Si Hyun – ONE FC Ring Girl
The Korean Zombie called out his next desired opponent on Friday and it’s none other than UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. “I want Jose Aldo,” Chan Sung Jung Tweeted. “I will end his reign as a champion.”
Jung, 25, most recently competed at UFC on FUEL TV 3 where he bested fellow contender Dustin Poirier in one of the best fights of the year at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. UFC President Dana White initially suggested Jung was potentially in the running for a title shot against Aldo, but later stated he was the clear cut top contender. Even if Jung gets his desired match-up with Aldo for a UFC title, there are two clear obstacles in his way.
Aldo, 25, was originally scheduled to face Erik Koch at UFC 149 next month in Calgary, Canada, but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to injury. However, the fight itself has not been scrapped. Aldo is still expected to face Koch at an undetermined date in the future. Aldo last competed at UFC 142 in January of this year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he defeated Chad Mendes in the first round of their bout by TKO.
If Jung were to receive a title shot without taking an additional bout between now, and whenever Aldo and Koch eventually face one another, he will be the first fighter to earn the opportunity based on a win from a main event on the UFC on FUEL TV series.
via Korean Zombie: I Will End Jose Aldo’s ‘Reign as a Champion’ – MMA Fighting.
UFC 148 Preview: Dong Hyun Kim vs DeMian Maia
DONG HYUN KIM (15-1-1, 6-1 UFC) vs. DEMIAN MAIA (15-4, 9-4 UFC)
Both of these fighters are two guys that continue to go under the radar. Kim is one of the best judo fighters in the world. Maia is one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters in MMA history. Whoever can control the pace of the fight will walk away victorious.
Kim’s only loss in his career was to the current interim welterweight champ, Carlos Condit. Kim has beaten the likes of Nate Diaz, Sean Pierson, Amir Sadollah, T.J. Grant, and Matt Brown during his UFC career. He is the reason why Nate Diaz moved down a weight division. Kim dominated Diaz for three rounds, which is very rare.
Maia is capable of being one of the best fighters in the welterweight division. This will be his first fight at 170-pounds after dropping down from 185. He is hoping a change in weight class will help him get to a title shot quicker. However, he has gotten away from what he is best at. His boxing has improved since his UFC debut in 2007, but he depends on it too much. His submission game is off the charts. Eight of his career fifteen wins have been via submission. Maia has fought the best of the best, and earned a title shot against Anderson Silva at UFC 112. He lost via decision, but showed he can take some shots.
This will be an interesting fight. Both of these guys are the best at what they do and it will come down to who can implement their game plan. If Maia can find a way to get it to the ground he will have a good chance to lock up a submission. Kim wants to keep the fight standing so he can put his judo-attack in full effect. This fight will be like a chess match and whoever is patient with their attack will have a good chance at getting checkmate.
via UFC 148 Preview: Patrick Cote vs. Cung Le – Sports Network – IBTimes.com.
Rob Refsnyder Tweets: ‘SC Doesn’t Accept Asians Playing Baseball’
Columbia, SC (WLTX) — As fans welcomed the baseball team back with pats on the backs, some are taking about more about not what happened on the field, but what happened in the stands.
We all know heckling has been apart of baseball since the beginning of the sport. But according to some at the game, many people wearing Gamecock colors were seen yelling racial remarks at Arizona’s right fielder.
Whatever racial comments were said by Carolina fans to Arizona player and South Korean born Rob Refsnyder, didn’t fall on deaf ears. The right fielder fired back on Twitter after the game saying, “I will never live in South Carolina because they can’t accept Asians playing baseball.”
Refsnyder soon deleted the tweet then responded, “when people make death threats to my family and myself for being a certain color or race…Caused some animosity.”
Many fans celebrating and welcoming home Carolina’s third consecutive College World Series team, say they were following the story as it grew online.
They tell News19 while it doesn’t make it right, they believe it was a few bad apples that spoiled it for…
via Rob Refsnyder Tweets: ‘SC Doesn’t Accept Asians Playing Baseball’ | wltx.com.
Son Yeon-jae hopes to win Olympic medal after 12 years of solid training
SEOUL: The London Olympics represent the culmination of 12 years of dedication for Son Yeon-jae, a South Korean rhythmic gymnast looking to win the country’s first medal in the discipline.
If she wins, the 18-year old who is a fluent Russian and English speaker, could become the next Korean sporting idol, following in the footsteps of figure skater Kim Yuna who wowed the country with her gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
“I am not yet the best in the world, although I am moving closer to it step by step as I planned to,” Yeon-jae told Reuters, sitting in front of a “no pain, no gain” banner hanging in her gym in the South Korean capital of Seoul.
Son, who is sponsored by South Korean electronics giant LG Electronics, currently ranks fifth in the world and has trained for competition since the age of
via Yeon-jae hopes to win Olympic medal after 12 years of solid training.
Korean star Robert Refsnyder, outfielder who was selected in the fifth round in the MLB Draft by the Yankees, is looking forward to starting his career in the Bombers organization
Robert Refsnyder was walking through a mall in Tucson, Ariz., with his girlfriend when the phone rang and a voice emerged:
“How would you like to be a Yankee?” a scout asked the University of Arizona outfielder. The answer was obvious.
Selected by the Yankees in the fifth round of this month’s MLB First-Year Player Draft, Refsnyder is eagerly anticipating his first visit to New York City, but the junior will have to wait until the Wildcats leave Nebraska, currently gunning for a national championship at the College World Series.
“I’m really looking forward to getting started, but we’ve got some unfinished business here,” said Refsnyder, who has helped Arizona win its first two games, batting 3-for-10 with two RBIs. “I’m really excited. To be drafted by the Yankees, there’s such a culture and tradition. This is what you dream about when you’re a little kid.”
Born in South Korea, but adopted when he was three months old and raised in southern California, Refsnyder, who wears No. 2 because of Derek Jeter, has batted .339 in three seasons at Arizona, peaking at .352 this year, with a team-high six home runs and 63 RBIs, along with 12 stolen bases. A right-handed hitter, Refsnyder leads the team with 29 extra-base hits and is batting .411 with runners in scoring position, while recording 31 walks and 24 strikeouts.
“He’s always been a good hitter, a guy who’s got good plate discipline and can hit all over field,” said Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees vice president of amateur scouting. “The combination of the simpleness of his swing, along with his approach and the plate coverage he brings, should translate into him being a quality hitter at the next level. All the indicators say that’s what should happen.”
Arizona coach Andy Lopez has been more impressed every season. “I love our club, but the one guy that really has an aptitude to hit is Refsnyder,” said Lopez, one of only three coaches to lead three different schools to the College World Series. “His leadership skills are marvelous. He’s a great young man. I’ll miss a lot of these juniors, but I’ll miss him especially.”
Refsnyder will begin his professional career this summer playing for the Staten Island Yankees in Short-Season A-ball and will then head to extended spring training. There, Refsnyder, who is an outfielder for Arizona, will begin work as a second baseman, what the Yankees drafted him as, because the team is unsure if his power will translate to the next level.
Snyder played 10 games at second base during his freshman season and Lopez assured Oppenheimer that Refsynder would make a smooth transition back to the infield. “That gives us a little flexibility, gives him another opportunity and another way to get to the big leagues,” Oppenheimer said. “I think he’s a good defender out there in the corner, but anytime you got a guy on the infield who’s offensive it just gives him that much more value.”
Refsnyder might lack some infield experience and may lack some power, but he doesn’t lack confidence. “I’ve only been playing baseball year-round for three years,” said Refsnyder, who played basketball and football in high school and was recruited by a few Pac-12 schools as a quarterback. “I’m pretty versatile and I’m pretty comfortable in the infield. … I’m not worried about power at all. The stadium I play at is 360 [feet] down the lines. Honestly, I’m just excited to get in the system and show the coaches what I’m capable of.”
Park Ji-sung backs Shinji Kagawa to be a Manchester United hit
Midfielder Park Ji-Sung has backed Manchester United’s latest signing Shinji Kagawa to become the club’s next successful import from Asia. Shinji Kagawa: 71 appearances, 29 goals and 15 assists during his two years at Dortmund
Park forged a solid reputation for himself as a player for the big stage after he signed for Sir Alex Ferguson from PSV Eindhoven back in 2005.
Kagawa has made the move from Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund to become the first Japanese player to move Old Trafford, and Park is convinced he will prove a shrewd acquisition.
“I know United have agreed a deal for Kagawa and I’m happy because we’re signing a good player,” Park said at an event hosted by his JS Foundation.
“Manchester United is a huge club and every season we sign new, world-class names. I hope Kagawa shows how good he is next season and I think he will do.”
The club have also secured the signing of promising midfielder Nick Powell from Crewe and Park says he is delighted with the competition for places in the middle of the pitch.
“There is a lot of competition in the squad but it doesn’t matter who I’m competing with,” he added. “We’re a team and I just want to concentrate on producing better performances.
“We’re starting our pre-season tour next month and those matches will help me to prepare for the new season. As always, when I begin a new season I am determined to improve.”
via Park Ji-sung backs Shinji Kagawa to be a Man Utd hit – ESPN Soccernet.
Change of focus has Shin Soo Choo in groove at plate has 3 homeruns in past 5 games
CLEVELAND — Shin-Soo Choo believes a simple switch in his mindset has helped him find a comfort zone with his swing. The Indians right fielder is no longer trying to guide pitches to particular parts of the field.
“The first two months of the season,” Choo said, “even before swinging, I was already thinking about where the ball would go. Now, I’m more focused on making contact. I’m not worried about where I’m hitting it. I’m seeing the ball and focusing on the contact area. Then, wherever the ball goes, it goes.”
Entering Tuesday’s game with Cincinnati, Choo had hit .287 with six home runs and 15 RBIs in his last 43 games, dating back to May 4. During that span, the outfielder — now entrenched as the club’s leadoff man — has raised his season average to .265 from .209. Three of Choo’s home runs in that stretch have come in his last five games.
“We know that the power is there,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “It was about the consistency of his swing and being patient. It’s starting to come. I know that at the end of the year his numbers are going to be there. He’s pretty comfortable right now in a good spot. He gradually has gotten better since the beginning of the season.”
Beyond his approach, Choo said a key has been improved production against fastballs. ”I’m a very good fastball hitter,” Choo said. “But in April and May, I had so many missed fastballs — even at like 92-94 mph. I couldn’t hit it. Foul balls. Swings and misses. That was a problem. There was something wrong with my timing. So I’m starting early and not thinking about where I’m hitting the ball, just focusing on the hitting area.”
Choo believes hitting leadoff has helped him find his rhythm, because it has offered the chance to have more plate appearances each game. ”I don’t mind any spot in the lineup,” Choo said. “The only reason I like the leadoff spot, or being in the top of the order, is you get extra at-bats. That’s why I like the top of the order. I think that’s helped.”
via Change of focus has Choo in groove at plate | indians.com: News.
S Koreans fear being branded taekwondo traitors
South Korean taekwondo competitors going for gold at the London Olympics know the price of failure will be extreme. Such is Koreans’ pride in their national sport that coming home without a gold medal would be tantamount to treason. After a disappointing Athens Games when they won only two golds, South Korea returned with a vengeance in Beijing with all four of their fighters becoming Olympic champions. Kim Sei-hyeok, general manager of the national taekwondo team, told Reuters anything short of four golds in London would be a body blow to South Korea’s taekwondo pride.
“Taekwondo is our national sport, it originated in Korea, so we are under pressure to get many gold medals,” Kim said at the national training center. ”It’s natural for us to win gold medals, we’ll be treated as traitors if we don’t, that’s what our media says.” Taekwondo, loosely translated as “way of the fist and foot”, enjoyed a surge in popularity after being exhibited as a demonstration sport at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 and quickly rose to become one of the world’s most practised martial arts.
While there have been calls for the sport’s place in the Olympic program to come under review due to a complicated scoring system and complaints about a lack of action, Kim said taekwondo’s global appeal made it a good fit with the Games. ”We have more than 200 member countries worldwide,” he said. “As far as Olympic Games are concerned, 52 member countries participated in Athens, 54 in Beijing and there will be 53 member countries at the London Olympics.”
New rules aimed at protecting competitors could make for more spectacular bouts, and Kim said the South Koreans would take full advantage of the changes. Previously, kicks to the head, worth three points, had to land with significant force to score but in London a competitor will be awarded the points as soon as any part of their foot touches their opponent’s head regardless of the impact power.
“Our strategy will be to give up one point to our opponents and get three points instead,” said Kim. “We are not giving up kicking the body but we will try hard to kick the face of our opponents with power, that’s our tactics and strategy.”
For Olympic candidate Hwang Kyung-seon, working on her footwork was the priority, while Cha Dong-min was focusing on his timing and Lee Dae-hoon had developed his speed. Kim said brute force was the key. “To remain the world’s taekwondo power our motto is ‘physical strength first, skill will follow’,” he said, adding that the Olympians would be pushed to the limit at higher altitude on long distance runs to build endurance. ”We need strong spiritual power based on physical strength.”
The 2012 London Olympics taekwondo competition will be held at the ExCeL arena in London from Aug 8-11.
Korean-American Daniel Oh drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2012 MLB draft
A Korean-American baseball player has been included in the New York Yankees first-year player draft for the first time. Daniel Oh (22) out of UC Berkeley was picked by the Yankees in their latest draft.
Other ethnic-Koreans have trodden in similar footsteps. Back in 2006, Hank Conger (Korean name Choi Hyun) was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels.
Oh, who was born and raised in Seattle, started playing baseball at the age of nine and was a star slugger at Henry Jackson High School there. Oh played a major role in helping the team win the state championship without losing a single match when he was still a high school junior.
Oh, who went on to the University of California at Berkeley in 2009, stands 183 cm tall and weighs 90 kg. An outfielder, he plans to begin training at the Yankees’ spring camp in Florida. If he is promoted to the major leagues, he will be the second player of Korean descent to wear the Yankees’ uniform after Park Chan-ho.
Los Angeles Angels place Bobby Wilson on concussion DL, call up Hank Choi Conger
After Angels catcher Bobby Wilson took a hard foul ball off the mask on Monday against Seattle, he showed clear signs of a concussion, so the team has placed him on the special seven-day disabled list reserved for such injuries. “My face felt like it was on fire, I was drowsy, fatigued, in a fog.”
Wilson is hitting .171/.232/.171 on the season, largely in place of injured starter Chris Iannetta, who underwent wrist surgery in early May.
To replace Wilson on the active roster and behind the plate, the Angels have summoned Hank Conger from Triple-A Salt Lake. The 24-year-old Conger is a career .299/.361/.468 hitter across parts of seven minor-league seasons. Although he’s scuttled during previous call-ups, it would be difficult for Conger to be less productive than Wilson has been to date.
via Angels place Bobby Wilson on concussion DL, call up Hank Conger – CBSSports.
Eun-Hee Ji leads by one after three rounds at Wegmans LPGA Championship
Eun-Hee Ji, coming off her first top-10 in more than two years, was solid again off the tee on the unforgiving Locust Hill Country Club course, hitting 11 of 14 fairways and reaching 11 of 14 greens in regulation. That gave her an impressive total of 39 GIRs in 54 holes.
Jenny Shin
Giulia Sergas, who shared the first-round lead but had a 76 on Friday in the wind-swept second round, moved back near the top with four birdies on the front nine and also finished with a 69. Sergas was tied at 2 under with Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen and Inbee Park. Lewis, a two-time winner in her last three events, had a 70, Pettersen shot a 71, and Park had a 72.
Paula Creamer was at or near the top most of the day, but faltered at the end and finished with a 73. She was in a seven-way tie at 1 under.
Defending champion Yani Tseng had her best round of the three days, finishing with at 74 after a 76 and a 75. Jenny Shin is 5 shots behind the leader, Eun-Hee Ji. 12 of the top 30 golfers on the leaderboard are Asians.
via Ji leads by one after three rounds at Wegmans LPGA Championship | www.WHEC.com.
2,908 Goals: Kyung Shin Yoon of German Handball was a marketing opportunity squandered
It’s a shame that Handball doesn’t have some marketable Asian stars (like Jeremy Lin or Yao Ming) that they couldn’t promote the same way. Well, actually they do have (or have had) the stars that could be promotable, but failed to fully capitalize on the opportunity. Amazingly, the German Bundesliga’s all-time career scoring leader, Kyung Shin Yoon is a South Korean. In 12 seasons from 1995 to 2008, Yoon scored 2,908 total goal averaging almost 8 goals/game. This is a crazy, dare I say, “Yoonique”, anomaly in a league which is probably around 98% white European. Yet Yoon, who continues to play in South Korea, is probably less known in his native country then Lin is now after two weeks of good play.
Well, it was back at the 1993 World Championships when I had my first opportunity to see Kyung-Shin Yoon play. And it was an up close and personal opportunity as Team USA battled South Korea for 15th place and an opportunity to avoid the “wooden spoon” (i.e. last place). We did our part to keep the USA’s unblemished record of World Championship futility alive, losing 35-28. After the match, I remember telling my teammates, “That young guy Yoon’s quite a player. You know wouldn’t surprise me a bit if he gets a contract from some Bundesliga club soon. Heck, I’ll go further; barring injury by the time he’s done playing he’ll be the all time scoring leader in Bundesliga history.”
In truth, I don’t remember much of anything from that match other than the annoying little sing song chant the Koreans did on defense after they had scored a goal. But I do remember, thinking, “hey that guy’s pretty tall for a Korean” and surely that was the 19 year old Yoon on his way to future stardom.
And quite a career it has been. In 12 seasons starting with Vfl Gummersbach in 1995 and ending with HSV Hamburg this past Saturday he found the back of the net a record 2,908 times. In 7 of those 12 seasons he also led the league in scoring, including a single season scoring record of 324 in the 2000-2001 campaign. What is even more remarkable is that with his nearly 8 goals/game average he has accomplished this in far fewer matches then most of the other players on the top 10 all time scoring list. Sure, he’s benefited from the fast style of play introduced by Gummersbach and now favored by many teams in the HBL, but he’s also benefited from remarkable consistency and a career that has been relatively injury free.
What’s surprising and somewhat disappointing to me, however, is the lack of celebration or acclaim that surrounds the departure of a player with such a record. Handball is above all else a team sport, but holding the career scoring record in the World’s best professional league is arguably the greatest individual record a handball player can have.
Druh Belts & Buckles congratulates Sun Young Yoo on LPGA win | World Golf News
not Sun Young Yoo
South Korean professional Sun Young Yoo secured at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in California back in April with an 18-foot birdie putt at the first play-off hole in the LPGA Tour’s first major of the season. Yoo overcame compatriot I K Kim to win her first major title and only her second tournament on the LPGA Tour.
“We are delighted to have Yoo in our stable of brand ambassadors as we have been looking for a lady pro to join the exalted company of ambassadors that we already have at Druh,” commented Simon Hurd, founder of Druh Belts & Buckles, which are already extremely popular in South Korea.
via Druh Belts & Buckles congratulates Sun Young Yoo on LPGA win | World Golf News.
Kevin Na unhappy with the shot clock during the Crowne Plaza Invitational | bettor.com
Kevin Na made the headlines during the Players Championship because of his slow preshot routine that stretched his group to stay on the course for more than five hours during the final two rounds.
Thereafter, he was warned by the PGA Tour officials for slow play and, according to him, he did not mind that action.
However, something happened during the second round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational that really did bother him and he looked disappointed by the PGA Tour official’s behaviour of singling him out.
He, along with John Huh and Aaron Baddeley, were put on the shot clock right in between his round on Friday, and he recorded three bogeys thereafter.
Golf commentators believe that he became upset and the bogeys were the result of his mental disturbance that was caused by the shot clock.
“We were in position all day. We were waiting the first few holes. I’m constantly looking where we are in position,” he said.
via Kevin Na unhappy with the shot clock during the Crowne Plaza Invitational | bettor.com.
Charlotte Bobcats GM Rich Cho Upset at Losing Draft Lottery?
Hornets coach Monty Williams beamed. Across the otherwise silent studio and off camera, incoming Hornets owner Tom Benson and his family began to whoop. All mysteries of the lottery solved, Silver dutifully opened the final envelope, containing the large Hornets logo that would star in several gleeful snapshots a few minutes later.
The look on Rich Cho’s face could only be described as “peeved.” He stared into the distance. He swallowed. He returned to his seat.
Anthony Davis was live via satellite, telling ESPN’s Mark Davis he’d be happy to play for the Hornets.
When the broadcast evolved to focus on a growing Big Easy party on the set, Cho checked his phone, then exited stage right at the direction of the production crew, with the other team representatives.
“Everybody wanted the number one pick,” Cho would say later. “Obviously, we wanted the number one pick, too. … There’s good players in the top five. Number one is a really special player. We’re going to get a really good player at number two.” “Really good,” is not the same as “really special.” And no, Cho was not yet sure who he would pick second overall.
via Rich Cho Upset at Losing Draft Lottery? | HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors.
Chan Sung Jung Earned His Big Win vs. Dustin Poirier with torn rotator cuff
Chan Sung Jung may just be “The Korean Zombie” for real. In his most recent win over Dustin Poirier, Jung let it be known that he earned the victory with a torn rotator cuff that will require surgery.”I finally had an MRI and the doctors verdict is that I have a tear in my rotator cuff,” said Jung, in a recent interview with BloodyElbow.com.
“He recommended immediate surgery, but I wasnt about to let some skinny-necked doctors stand between me and my goal, so I played it down and trained through the pain.”Jung said that the injury kept him from building muscle mass, and that he was nowhere near his peak physically heading into the fight with Poirier.
With the win, Jung likely secured himself a future title shot in the UFCs featherweight division.”It definitely put a crimp in my training style because I didnt get to do a lot of things I wanted to do,” Jung said. “And the things that I did do, I didnt do them to the degree that I would have liked to.”
via Chan Sung Jung Earned His Big Win vs. Dustin Poirier Despite Injury.
Jin Joo Hong takes the lead in first round of Honda LPGA Thailand
Jin Joo Hong fired a six-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Honda LPGA Thailand. After hitting three birdies and a pair of bogeys on the front nine, Hong improved after the turn to eagle the par-five 11th before adding three more birdies on her way in to finish two ahead of a group of four players on four-under 68.
One of them is Angela Stanford, who won the season-opening SBS Open at Turtle Bay. The American got off to a bad start with a bogey on the first hole, but rebounded with birdies on two and three. She is joined in second place by Paula Creamer, Kristy McPherson, Brittany Lang and Helen Alfredsson.
Shin Soo Choo as the lead off batter
OF Shin-Soo Choo became just the fifth player to hit a home run off Justin Verlander to lead off the first inning of a game, when Choo hit a 454-foot homer off Verlander in the first inning Thursday. In 11 games since being moved to the leadoff spot in the order, Choo is hitting .372 (16-43), with 6 doubles, 2 home runs, and 4 RBI.
Chan Sung Jung Knows He Made a Statement at UFC on FUEL TV 3 – could become first full-blooded asian UFC champion
On Tuesday at UFC on FUEL TV 3, Chan Sung Jung solidified himself as the frontrunner to challenge for the featherweight belt after Jose Aldo and Erik Koch have at it later this summer.
Considered to be a wide underdog against Poirier, Jung defied expectations by submitting the 23-year-old prospect in the fourth round. And The Korean Zombie dominated most all of the action preceding that point, looking in the best technical form he has yet. The win caps off a three-fight streak that features his 2011 Submission of the Year (twister) win over Leonard Garcia and his seven-second knockout of Mark Hominick.
Considering this, UFC officials announced two nights ago that Jung was next in line for the belt. Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Jung said that the shot feels deserved.
“I think that I definitely made a statement about being able to go into the title match this year,” Jung said. “Honestly, if the fight had gone to a decision, I probably wouldn’t have been saying that as definitively. But I think I made the statement.”
Aldo and Koch are scheduled to meet at UFC 149 this July 21 in Calgary; Jung presumably awaits the winner.
via Chan Sung Jung Knows He Made a Statement at UFC on FUEL TV 3.
Suk-Min Yoon | MLB Free Agency: Top Foreign Stars Who Could Be Next Offseason’s Yu Darvish
Age: 25
Position: RHP
2011 Stats: 17-5, 2.45 ERA, 178 Ks, 172.1 IP
Many expected Suk-Min Yoon to be posted this past season, as he hired Scott Boras as his agent and seemed to have everything in place to join a big league team for 2012.
Instead, he returned to the Kia Tigers and he will not need a posting fee next season as he will simply be a free agent.
With a fastball that tops out at 93 and a good slider and changeup he has the stuff to succeed in the MLB. He was impressive in the World Baseball Classic (4 G, 2-0, 1.13 ERA, 13 Ks, 16 IP) playing against top talent.
