SEOUL: Masked fans hopped, sang and shouted cheers in baseball stadiums in South Korea on Sunday as authorities began allowing spectators to return to professional sports amid the coronavirus pandemic.
After a weeks-long delay, South Korea’s 2020 baseball season began in early May without fans in the stands amid a then-slowing virus outbreak in the country. Seats in baseball stadiums had since been filled with cheering banners, dolls or pictures of fans.
On Sunday, the Korean Baseball Organization allowed a limited number of fans, or 10 percent of the stadium capacity, to watch games live. They entered stadiums after their temperatures and smartphone QR codes were checked. During the games, they were required to wear masks and sit at least a seat apart while being banned from eating food and drinking any alcoholic beverages in line with the KBO guidelines.
During a game between Doosan Bears and LG Twins at Seoul’s Jamsil baseball stadium, fans wearing the teams’ jerseys still shouted their favorite players’ names, raised banners and sang fight songs. Some Bears fans jumped from their seats when Choi Joo-hwan hit a two-run home run at the bottom the 2nd inning.
Two of the five baseball games Sunday still continued without fans because they were held in area where stricter social distancing guidelines are in place.
Health authorities said Friday that the professional soccer league will also be allowed to have fans back in the stands from Aug. 1, and also starting with 10 percent of the stadium capacity. Senior Health Ministry official Yoon Taeho said that professional golf tournaments will still continue without galleries until at least late August.
South Korean officials plan to allow more fans into baseball and football stadiums if they report progress in anti-virus campaigning.
South Korea has seen an uptick in new virus cases since it eased its rigid social distancing rules in early May. But the country’s caseload hasn’t exploded like its earlier outbreak in late February and early March, when it recorded hundreds of new cases every day.
Earlier Sunday, South Korea reported 58 additional cases of the coronavirus over the past 24-hour period, a day after it reported 100-plus for the first time in nearly four months.
Baseball fans in South Korea back in stands amid COVID-19
https://arab.news/ws8ah
Baseball fans in South Korea back in stands amid COVID-19
- Korean Baseball Organization allows a limited number of fans, or 10 percent of the stadium capacity, to watch games live
Record prize of up to $200k for a 9-darter at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters
- Players who complete a perfect leg will receive $100,000, with the chance to double it by hitting the bullseye with a bonus 10th dart
- 8 Professional Darts Corporation stars will take on 8 of Asia’s top players in the tournament on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Global Theater in Boulevard City
RIYADH: Players at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters in Riyadh next week have a chance to win a record-breaking cash prize for a nine-dart finish, with up to $200,000 up for grabs for a perfect leg.
Eight Professional Darts Corporation stars will take on eight of Asia’s leading players at the tournament, which is part of Riyadh Season, on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Global Theater in Boulevard City.
Turki Alalshikh, chairperson of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, revealed on Thursday that any player who hits a perfect nine-darter during the event will receive a $100,000 bonus, with the chance to double it through the Riyadh Season Bullseye Challenge.
With the leg already won, the player will throw a 10th dart, and if it hits the bullseye the prize will be doubled to $200,000, the biggest amount ever offered by a PDC-sanctioned event for a nine-darter.
Reigning world champion Luke Littler, who will head the line-up in Riyadh, previously hit a nine-darter on the World Series of Darts stage at the Bahrain Masters in 2024.
He will be joined by 2023/24 world champion Luke Humphries, world championship runner-up Gian van Veen, and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.
The PDC contingent also includes former world champion Gerwyn Price, world No. 7 Stephen Bunting, former UK Open winner Danny Noppert, and 2023 World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall.
Asia will be represented by Singapore veteran Paul Lim, who in 1990 famously threw the first televised World Darts Championship nine-darter, alongside Filipinos Alexis Toylo, Lourence Ilagan and Paolo Nebrida, Japan’s Motomu Sakai, Ryusei Azemoto and Tomoya Goto, and Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung.
