‘There’s a reason I’m still here’: Labuschagne’s vow in fight to save career

The Sydney Morning Herald - Sep 18, 2026

Marnus Labuschagne may be a man under siege, but he insists he is far from a spent force on the international stage.

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Promotion-chasing Kent wrap up vital win

Sep 17, 2026

Promotion-chasing Kent wrap up vital win

Promotion-chasing Kent wrapped up a seventh County Championship Division 2 victory of the summer in three days against Lancashire.

Iran stands in way as Korea chases 1st men's hoops gold in 12 years

Sep 17, 2026

Iran stands in way as Korea chases 1st men's hoops gold in 12 years

NAGOYA, Japan — The last time Korea won the Asian Games gold medal in men's basketball, it defeated Iran in the final on its home soil of Incheon in 2014. In the central Japanese city of Nagoya this week, Korea will face Iran in the semifinals of the hoops tournament, sitting within two wins of recapturing the glory from a dozen years ago. The two countries will renew their rivalry at 4 p.m. Friday at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya. The host country Japan and China will square off in the other semifinal match later Friday. Korea has lost to Iran in six consecutive matches since the 2014 victory. Two of those losses came at the 2018 and the 2023 Asian Games. Coached by Nikolajs Mazurs, Korea has won all four games it has played so far. It defeated Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Japan in succession in the group phase before routing Jordan 114-80 in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Team captain Lee Seoung-hyun and leading scorer Lee Hyun-jung have both spoken about how the team is finally figuring out playing the type of basketball that Mazurs wants. The Latvian coach, who took the Korean re

Asian Games stumble before opening with leaks, lost buses

Sep 17, 2026

Asian Games stumble before opening with leaks, lost buses

NAGOYA, Japan — A representative of a sports federation who moved into the cruise ship athletes’ village at Kinjo Pier near Nagoya Port on Wednesday expressed frustration, saying, “This is my first international competition like this.” While the accommodations are in much better condition than those at the container-based Garden Pier village, athletes staying aboard the cruise ship will have to spend virtually all of their time living on the water during the Games, while also facing poor access to competition venues. On the same day, athletes staying at the container village had to make their way to shuttle buses in pouring rain. “Once you step outside the containers, there is nowhere to escape either the rain or the sun,” another sports official said. The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Asia’s largest sporting event, are set to open on Saturday, but the Games are already being marred by serious operational problems. The organizing committee’s unconventional decision not to build a dedicated athletes’ village, citing cost savings and environmental considerations, has tri

Table tennis player, rower to carry nat'l flag at opening ceremony

Sep 17, 2026

Table tennis player, rower to carry nat'l flag at opening ceremony

Table tennis star Shin Yu-bin and rower Kim Dong-yong will serve as the flag bearers for Korea at the opening ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the national Olympic committee announced Thursday. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said Shin and Kim will do the honors at the ceremony scheduled for Saturday at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, central Japan. Shin, 22, will compete in the women's singles, women's doubles, mixed doubles and the women's team event. She and her partner, Lim Jong-hoon, are world No. 1 in the mixed doubles and are considered a big medal threat in Nagoya. The two combined for bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the 2023 Asian Games, Shin swept up four medals, including gold in the women's doubles. Kim, 35, has been representing Korea for 17 years. In Nagoya, he will compete in the men's double sculls and the quadruple sculls events, and he is considered a medal contender in the latter one. The KSOC also named veteran archer Kim Woo-jin and shooter Lee Bo-na as co-captains of the whole delegation. Kim, 34, is one of the most decor

Korea to send rapid response team to Nagoya for incidents involving Koreans

Sep 17, 2026

Korea to send rapid response team to Nagoya for incidents involving Koreans

The foreign ministry said Thursday it will dispatch a joint government rapid response team to Nagoya, Japan, during the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games to help prevent and respond to incidents involving Korean nationals. The nine-member team consists of officials from the foreign ministry, the National Intelligence Service and the National Counter-Terrorism Center, and will be deployed from Thursday through Oct. 4, according to the ministry. The team will work to prevent incidents involving Koreans, establish a cooperation system with local security authorities and monitor security and terrorism trends. "The number of Koreans visiting Nagoya is expected to rise markedly during this year's Chuseok holiday," the ministry said. "We will conduct safety checks around competition venues and major tourist attractions, promote safe overseas travel and provide prompt consular assistance in the event of incidents," it added.

Main Korean delegation arrives in Nagoya

Sep 17, 2026

Main Korean delegation arrives in Nagoya

NAGOYA, Japan — The main batch of the Korean delegation to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games arrived in the main host city in central Japan on Thursday, with their sights set on challenging the host country in the medal race set to begin this weekend. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said 122 athletes and officials from six sports arrived at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Tokoname, some 30 kilometers south of Nagoya. They are joining athletes in sports such as football, volleyball and basketball, whose competition has already started in and around Nagoya. The opening ceremony is Saturday and the competition will close Oct. 4. The KSOC is targeting around 45 gold medals, with Korea competing in 41 out of 43 sports. China is expected to dominate the medal race once again, leaving Korea and Japan to duel for second place. At the previous Asiad three years ago, Japan finished second with 52 gold medals, 10 more than third-ranked Korea. Table tennis player Shin Yu-bin and badminton player Seo Seung-jae led the delegation's march through the Japanese airport upon arrival. They

Korea's Seong Seung-min advances to Asian Games modern pentathlon final

Sep 17, 2026

Korea's Seong Seung-min advances to Asian Games modern pentathlon final

NAGOYA, Japan — Korea's Seong Seung-min advanced to the women's modern pentathlon final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after finishing second in her semifinal group Thursday. Seong scored 1,365 points to finish second in Group A after competing in five events — fencing, swimming, obstacle course racing and laser run, a combination of running and shooting — at Anjo Sports Park in Anjo, just southeast of the main host city of Nagoya. A total of 33 modern pentathletes were divided into two groups for the semifinals, with the top nine athletes in each group advancing to the final, scheduled for Sunday. Seong is one of the strongest gold medal contenders. She won the 2024 World Modern Pentathlon Championships to become the first Korean woman to win a world title in the event. At the Paris Summer Olympics later that year, she became the first Asian female pentathlete to win an Olympic medal. Seong will be looking to win Korea's first gold medal of the Asian Games, which officially open Saturday. Three other Korean pentathletes also advanced to the final. Shin Su-min ranked sixth in Group A

Nat'l baseball team squeezes past minor league club in scrimmage

Sep 17, 2026

Nat'l baseball team squeezes past minor league club in scrimmage

NAGOYA, Japan — The Asian Games-bound national baseball team narrowly avoided a loss to a minor league club in a scrimmage in Seoul on Thursday. Managed by Ryu Ji-hyun, Korea beat the military club Sangmu 7-6 in an unofficial, eight-inning game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The national team is made up of stars from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Sangmu plays in the second-tier Futures League. Manager Ryu sent eight of his 11 pitchers to the mound, each throwing around 30 pitches. Three starters, Gwak Been, Choi Min-seok and So Hyeong-jun, did not see action. Two left-handers struggled, with Oh Won-seok giving up four hits and two runs in one inning, while Bae Chan-seung surrendered four runs on five hits while retiring just one batter. On the other hand, six other pitchers all put up zeroes on the board. Korea trailed 6-3 entering the eighth inning, and it had runners at first and second to simulate an extra-inning situation at the Asian Games. From there, Korea scored four runs, thanks to hits by Park Jun-soon and Kim Gun-hee. The national team is scheduled to leave for Nagoya on

Main Korean delegation arrives in Nagoya

Sep 17, 2026

Main Korean delegation arrives in Nagoya

NAGOYA, Japan — The main batch of the Korean delegation to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games arrived in the main host city in central Japan on Thursday, with their sights set on challenging the host country in the medal race set to begin this weekend. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said 122 athletes and officials from six sports arrived at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Tokoname, some 30 kilometers south of Nagoya. They are joining athletes in sports such as football, volleyball and basketball, whose competition has already started in and around Nagoya. The opening ceremony is Saturday and the competition will close Oct. 4. The KSOC is targeting around 45 gold medals, with Korea competing in 41 out of 43 sports. China is expected to dominate the medal race once again, leaving Korea and Japan to duel for second place. At the previous Asiad three years ago, Japan finished second with 52 gold medals, 10 more than third-ranked Korea. Table tennis player Shin Yu-bin and badminton player Seo Seung-jae led the delegation's march through the Japanese airport upon arrival. They

Korea beats Qatar in women's volleyball, secures quarterfinal berth

Sep 17, 2026

Korea beats Qatar in women's volleyball, secures quarterfinal berth

KOMAKI, Japan — Korea defeated Qatar in its second preliminary group round match of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Thursday, securing a berth in the quarterfinals. In the women's volleyball preliminary Pool D match at Park Arena Komaki in Komaki, just north of Nagoya, Japan, Korea beat Qatar 3-0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-10). Following a 3-0 victory over Hong Kong the previous day, Korea has two wins in Pool D. Later in the day, Vietnam defeated Hong Kong 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-18) to also secure a quarterfinal berth with two wins. Korea and Vietnam will play the final Pool D match Friday at the same venue to decide first place. In Thursday's match against Qatar, Korea took the 75-22 edge in total attacks, 13-0 in service winners and 10-1 in blocks, demonstrating its dominance throughout the match. Middle blocker Park Eun-jin scored a match-high 15 points, including five aces and three blocks, while middle blocker Jung Ho-young contributed 14 points and opposite spiker Park Eun-so added 11 points. In the first set, Korea scored 10 straight points while middle blocker Park Eun-jin was serving to ext

Korea blank Bangladesh for 2nd straight win in women's football

Sep 17, 2026

Korea blank Bangladesh for 2nd straight win in women's football

NAGOYA — Korea cruised past Bangladesh 6-0 for their second straight victory in women's football at the Asian Games in Japan on Thursday. Six players had a goal apiece for the Taegeuk Ladies in their Group F match at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, some 140 kilometers west of the main host city of Nagoya. Korea, after earlier beating Myanmar 5-0, will play their final group match against North Korea at 4 p.m. Monday at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Shizuoka, about 135 kilometers east of Nagoya. North Korea beat Bangladesh 10-0 in their opener and were scheduled to play Myanmar in Thursday's nightcap. If North Korea defeat Myanmar as expected, then the two Koreas will both secure their spots in the quarterfinals as the top two teams out of Group F. Their match on Monday will then determine who will win the group. The Korean women have not yet won an Asiad gold medal. They won three straight bronze medals in 2010, 2014 and 2018, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals in 2023. Against Bangladesh, Kim Min-ji, who scored a hat trick against Myanmar, put Korea on the board in the 16th minute. Jeong Da-bi

Ainsworth on ‘fierce competitor’ Evans as ex-Gills boss returns to Priestfield

Sep 17, 2026

Ainsworth on ‘fierce competitor’ Evans as ex-Gills boss returns to Priestfield

Steve Evans will bring his familiar touchline intensity back to Priestfield on Saturday – but Gills boss Gareth Ainsworth says he has his respect.

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