■ Golf
Taiwanese golfer on the up
A weekend victory at the Taiwan Masters catapulted unheralded Taiwanese golfer Lin Wen-ko into the No. 7 spot on the Asian PGA Tour's Order of Merit, the tour said yesterday. After making the cut for the first time in three events this season, Lin went on to beat Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee by one stroke and win US$76,878 on Sunday. The victory put the 27-year-old Lin just behind Thailand's Thammanoon Srirot, who has earned US$94,339, and one place ahead of Canada's Rick Gibson, with US$75,898 in winnings. Thongchai, winner of the Order of Merit title in 2001 and second last year, won US$47,126 at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club in the Taipei suburb of Tamsui. The winnings moved the Thai star from fifth to third on the list. So far this year, he has earned US$138,001.
■ Wrestling
Japan takes women's title
Japan won five golds to seize the women's team title and Georgia took the men's final at the World Freestyle Championships on Sunday. Georgia finished with 33 points. The US men and Iran both finished with 31 but the Americans finished second by virtue of winning two silvers to just one for Iran. Chiharu Icho earned Japan's first gold by defeating Russia's Natalia Karamchakova at 51kg, and Seiko Yamamoto followed with Japan's third gold in as many matches by defeating Russia's Natalia Ivashko 4-0. The US women had led the team race going into the finals. But Japan's five golds won out over the US' one gold and six other medals. Japan defeated the US in all three of the nations' head-to-head matches, as Saori Yoshida defeated Tina George with three consecutive single-leg takedowns at 55kg and Kyoko Hamaguchi clinched Japan's win with a 4-1 win over Toccara Montgomery at 72kg.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB