Sports Briefs

ASIAN GAMES

Koreas to field joint team in three sports at Asian Games

South and North Korea have agreed to field joint teams in three sports and six events at this year’s Asian Games in Indonesia, the continent’s top sports body said Thursday.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) said the Koreas will compete as one in basketball, dragon boat racing and rowing. The OCA made the announcement following a four-party meeting it hosted involving the two Koreas’ respective Olympic bodies and the organizing committee of the Asian Games in Jakarta on Thursday.

The 18th Asian Games will be co-hosted by Jakarta and Palembang from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2.

There will be a unified team in the women’s five-on-five basketball; men’s and women’s dragon boat, a canoe discipline; and lightweight men’s four, lightweight men’s eight and lightweight women’s double sculls events in rowing.

The OCA had previously said it would support joint Korean participation but insisted there would be no extra places for athletes from either Korea on unified teams. It reiterated that stance on Thursday, saying, “The size of the joint teams will not exceed the athlete quota that applies to all other national Olympic committees (NOCs).”

TENNIS

Chung becomes first Korean to be seeded at Grand Slam

Chung Hyeon became the first Korean tennis player to be seeded at a Grand Slam tournament Thursday.

Chung received the 26th seed at Wimbledon, the third major tournament of the year set to get under way next Monday. The 22-year-old is ranked 22nd in the world.

He would have been seeded at the French Open last month as well, but he pulled out of that competition with an ankle injury.

At the season’s first Grand Slam event, the Australian Open in January, Chung made a Cinderella run to the semifinals, where he retired against the eventual champion Roger Federer due to blisters on his foot.

The nagging ankle problems have kept Chung out of action since the Mutua Madrid Open on May 7.

BASEBALL

Kang Jung-ho on disabled list following wrist injury

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Korean infielder Kang Jung-ho has been placed on the disabled list (DL) with a wrist injury, as his bid to return to the majors suffered a setback.

The Indianapolis Indians, the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate, announced on Wednesday (local time) that Kang was put on the seven-day DL with a left wrist sprain. The move is retroactive to Monday, meaning Kang is eligible to return to action next Monday.

Kang missed the entire 2017 season after getting into legal trouble in his native country. He was charged with fleeing the scene of a drunk driving accident in Seoul in December 2016 and received a suspended jail term in March last year. Kang failed to acquire his U.S. work permit, which cost him his third big league season and was forced to play some Dominican winter ball to stay sharp.

Kang got his visa in April this year, and he promptly reported to the Pirates’ spring training facility in Bradenton, Florida, to begin his comeback bid. After a brief stint in Advanced A ball, Kang was promoted to Triple-A, the highest rung in the minors, on June 11.

In nine games with the Indians, Kang is batting .235 (8-for-34) with five RBIs but no home runs.

Yonhap