■EAST ASIAN GAMES
Mixed day for Taiwan
Table tennis gold medal favorites China finished round-robin play undefeated yesterday to qualify for the semi-finals in the men’s competition in Hong Kong. The Chinese men beat Japan 3-0, closing out the round-robin stage without dropping a single match. In the semi-finals, they will face Hong Kong, who qualified by beating Taiwan 3-1. South Korea, who had two wins on Wednesday, will play either Japan or Macau in the other semi-final. The Chinese women qualified with two wins on Wednesday. Yesterday, they were joined by Japan, who defeated Macau 3-0. Hong Kong and Taiwan qualified in Pool B with one win each. In women’s basketball, Japan edged China 59-54, with Ryoko Utsumi scoring 18 points. Taiwan crushed Hong Kong 112-47. In men’s basketball, six Taiwanese players were in double digits in their 118-59 rout of Macau.
■CHINESE BOXING
Tournament starts today
This year’s Chinese boxing (San Da) tournament and the first national K-1 kickboxing competition will be held in Taipei today, with winners from the past few years competing for the title of the first K-1 king of Taiwan. The Chinese Boxing (San Da) Combat Association, which is organizing the event, has held four national San Da tournaments since it was established in 2003, but has not staged a national K-1 tournament before. The“K”in K-1 stands for karate, kickboxing, kung fu and other stand-up martial arts. San Da, also known as Chinese boxing, is basically kickboxing with throws and it combines techniques from kung fu, kickboxing and freestyle wrestling.
■BASEBALL
Chen gets a pay rise
Chen Wei-yin, a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) pitcher from Taiwan, re-signed on Wednesday with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan’s Central League for an annual salary of ¥110 million (US$1.15 million), a sharp rise from the ¥35 million he was offered last season, a Japanese newspaper reported on Wednesday. The pay rise came in the wake of Chen’s 1.54 earned run average last season.
■BOXING
Hopkins returns with a win
Bernard Hopkins of the US returned to the ring after a near 14-month absence to score a unanimous points decision victory over Mexican Enrique Ornelas in a non-title light-heavyweight bout on Wednesday. Hopkins, 44, the former middleweight and light-heavyweight champion, used his experience to land sharp counters and when Ornelas stood back, scored with lead right hands.
■GOLF
Appleby, Hend share lead
A three-putt bogey at the last dropped home favorite Stuart Appleby into a tie for the lead with compatriot Scott Hend on six-under after a blustery first round at the Australian Open yesterday. Former world No. 3 Adam Scott was just two shots back in a tie for fifth after an eagle three at the par-five 12th helped him to a 68.
■TENNIS
Mauresmo retires
Twice Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo announced her retirement yesterday. “I came here to announce the end of my career. I made this decision after careful consideration,” the 30-year-old told a news conference before bursting into tears. Mauresmo first topped the rankings in September 2004 and clinched her Grand Slam titles in 2006 when she won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah on Tuesday said that he would leave the English club at the end of the Premier League season, marking an earlier-than-planned departure for one of the club’s greatest-ever scorers and soccer’s biggest names. The 33-year-old Egypt forward, who has scored 255 goals in 435 appearances for Liverpool, “reached an agreement” to quit the team a year before his contract was due to expire, the Premier League champions said. Salah’s form has dipped in his ninth year at Anfield, to such an extent that he was dropped for a stretch of games late last year — leading to the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
There were some big games to be played yesterday in the NBA, with the Atlanta Hawks to play the Detroit Pistons in a matchup pitting a Hawks team who are rolling against a Pistons team trying to lock up the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed. The Oklahoma City Thunder were to play the Boston Celtics, a showdown featuring the two most recent champions, while the Houston Rockets faced the Minnesota Timberwolves, a game that could factor mightily into Western Conference seeding. Elsewhere, the Washington Wizards were to play the Utah Jazz, with the Wizards on a 16-game slide visiting against a team
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