Sports briefs

BASEBALL

Choo’s solo home run helps Rangers win

Texas Rangers outfielder Choo Shin-soo went 3-for-4 including a solo home run in the Major League Baseball game against the Oakland Athletics at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, on Monday, Korean time.

The 33-year-old Korean, who also collected two RBIs and scored three runs against Oakland, raised his batting average from .255 to .259 after the game. Choo’s solo shot against Oakland starter Felix Doubront in the first inning was his 18th of the season. The Rangers won 12-4.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Kang Jung-ho went 2-for-5 with one RBI against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pirates won 7-6.

TABLE TENNIS

Belgium title is Seo’s third championship

Seo Hyo-won won the 2015 ITTF World Tour Belgium Open on Sunday to claim her third career championship in World Tour.

In the women’s single final in De Hann, Belgium, Seo beat Feng Tianwei of Singapore 4-3 (15-13, 8-11, 10-12, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7 and 11-9) and won the trophy. It was her first World Tour event victory since winning the Korea Open and Poland Open in 2013.

The win also raises the chance of the 28-year-old competing in the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Lisbon in December. The event invites the top 16 players by world ranking. Seo is now ranked No. 13.

EQUESTRIAN

Kim’s first place sets him up for Rio games

Equestrian rider Kim Dong-seon earned a berth in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, his Hanwha Galleria Equestrian club said on Monday.

The club said Kim, 26, came in first among Asia and Oceania riders at the Olympic qualifier in Gestut Peterhof in Perl, Germany, Saturday. Kim, the only Korean participating, scored 66.940 percent in Group G, where he beat six riders from Asia and Oceania. In overall ranking, Kim was eighth among 35 riders.

Kim will be the first Korean to qualify for the Olympics since Choi Jun-sang in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.