Taiwan out of Futsal Cup
Taiwan was swept out of the qualifiers for the Asia Futsal Cup on Monday after its match with Lebanon ended in a 1-1 tie. Taiwan took the lead when Tseng Tai-lin (
Baseball up and running
The CPBL spring training schedule got under way on Monday when the Brother Elephants played the Macoto Cobras and the Chinatrust Whales matched up against the Sinon Bulls. After revamping their lineup following a disappointing season last year, the Elephants overcame a shaky start by lefty Nicholas Bierbrod to squeak by with a 6-5 win on an errant throw in the bottom of the ninth by Cobras shortstop Kuo Ming-jen (郭銘仁). The Whales-Bulls match turned into a pitchers' duel, ending in a 1-1 tie after nine innings.
Cobras to continue in 2007
Lin Chih-kuang (林致光), owner of the Macoto Cobras, yesterday announced that the team would retain the name for 2007 after a proposed deal to sell off the team finally fell through. Lin said that despite the pressure on him running the team, he would continue to do so over the coming season rather than disband it. The aborted deal to rename the team the Chiuho Dragons will reportedly cost it more than NT$3 million.
Wang's half-million bargain
Yankees pitcher Wang Chien-ming (王建民) yesterday agreed to a one-year deal with the team worth around US$500,000. Though much higher than Taiwanese salaries, the deal is a bargain for the Yankees. Wang's big payday will come this off-season, however, when he becomes eligible for arbitration.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not