Taiwan finished the last day of competition at the World Games yesterday with a flourish, winning both the men’s and women’s tchoukball competitions and grabbing three silvers and a bronze.
The medals took Taiwan’s total medal haul to 24, seventh place overall in the final table.
The men’s and women’s tchoukball teams beat No. 1 ranked Switzerland in both finals.
PHOTO: SAM YEH, AFP
As in Friday’s round-robin match, the men dominated the Swiss from the off, leading 22-13 after the first 15-minute period on the strength of their more accurate shooting and better defensive catching. They powered to a 42-27 lead in the second period, before wrapping up a 67-39 win with a strong final third.
No. 9 Lee Chih-hui was the star, scoring 16 points, with Chang Wei-chun adding another 10.
The women, meanwhile, were not so dominant, eking out a 16-13 lead in the first period and gradually stretching their lead to end up 50-37 winners. The Swiss women didn’t help their cause by constantly complaining about the officiating.
As tchoukball is an invitational sport at these Games, the medals did not count toward the official medal total.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s quest for a nine-ball pool gold ended in disappointment as Kaohsiung native Yang Ching-shun tasted defeat in the men’s final.
Yang had to be content with the silver medal after being outplayed by “The Kaiser,” Ralf Souquet of Germany, who triumphed 11-4.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Also winning silver were Chen Yen-hui, who lost 4-2 to Croatia’s Jelena Kovacevic in the final of the women’s karate kumite under 53kg. Compatriot Hsia Wen-huang also took silver after being outfought in the men’s under 60kg gold medal match against Brazil’s Douglas Santos Broze.
Kuo Kung-chih later missed out on a bronze after defeat in the men’s kumite open weight division.
In other action yesterday, Chang Ya-wen secured third place in the women’s powerlifting super heavyweight division and a bronze medal after scoring a combined total of 548.8 points in the three disciplines. Iryna Yavorskakarpova took gold with a score of 581.25 points. Taiwan’s Hung Min-chu finished in ninth place with 476.26 points.
The women’s heavyweight division saw Tseng Wei-chung finish out of the medals in seventh position, while Hau Hsiao-li was disqualified.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue