Sports Briefs

BASEBALL

Rangers’ Choo Shin-soo hits 10th home run of the season

Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers hit his 10th home run of the season during a game against the Seattle Mariners at Arlington Globe Life Park in Texas on Saturday and got on base for a 12th consecutive game to help the Rangers win 10-4.

During the match, Choo appeared as the Rangers’ first batter and right fielder. While the Rangers were leading 8-4 in the sixth inning, Choo hit a two-run home run against Dan Altavilla’s 98-mile-an-hour fastball.

Throughout the game, Choo was two-for-five with two RBIs and one run, including a home run. With the performance, Choo’s batting average has increased to 0.261.

This marks Choo’s eighth season in Major League Baseball in which he has exceeded 10 home runs. In 2010 and 2015, Choo hit the most home runs, 24, and considering his current pace, it looks like he might reach the record again.

By Kang Yoo-rim

SWIMMING

Park Tae-hwan jets to Rome for championship training

Park Tae-hwan departed for Rome on Sunday to open his pre-world championships training camp, with an eye on a gold medal at the biennial competition.

Park, 27, is scheduled to compete at the FINA World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. The competition begins July 14 with synchronized swimming and diving, and the swimming portion starts July 23.

This will be Park’s first world championships in a long-course (50-meter or 160-foot) pool since the 2011 event in Shanghai. He won his second 400-meter freestyle title there, and his first world title in the 400-meter free came in Melbourne in 2007. Those two titles sandwiched Park’s only Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter at Beijing 2008.

At a press conference in Seoul on Friday, Park said he wants to capture a gold medal in Hungary, with a focus on his two main events: 400-meter and 200-meter freestyle.

FOOTBALL

Former Jeonbuk scout found hanged in club’s stadium

A former football club scout convicted of bribing referees was found dead in an apparent suicide at a football stadium, Korean police said Friday.

The police said a former scout for the K League Classic club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors was found hanged at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla. It is Jeonbuk’s home stadium.

The police said he had received an eight-month prison term, suspended for two years, last year for bribing two referees in 2013. The scout, who joined Jeonbuk in 2002, was immediately removed from his position after the ruling.

Jeonbuk were docked nine points by the K League’s disciplinary committee and fined 100 million won ($88,400) following the scout’s conviction last year. They were also expelled from this year’s Asian Football Confederation Champions League and were not given an opportunity to defend their continental title.

Yonhap