GOLF
Tseng consolidates ranking
Yani Tseng of Taiwan tightened her hold on the world No. 1 ranking after her third-place finish in Sunday’s HSBC Women’s Champions, according to the Rolex women’s golf world rankings released yesterday. Tseng’s weighted points average for events played over the past two years jumped from 11.16 on Feb. 21 to 11.46 yesterday, while her closest rival, Shin Ji-yai of South Korea, fell to 9.84 points after finishing tied for 11th in Singapore. Shin’s compatriot Choi Na-yeon jumped from fourth to third, her career-best ranking, with an average of 9.28 points after finishing sixth in Singapore. After its brief Asian swing, the LPGA Tour now returns to the US, with the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup, scheduled to be played in Phoenix, Arizona on March 19.
TENNIS
Chang loses in Malaysia
Taiwan’s Chang Kai-chen lost to China’s Zhang Shuai in a tight three-setter in the first round of the Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Zhang, currently ranked 79th in the world, was edged out by the 134th-ranked Chang 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 in 2 hours and 43 minutes. The 20-year-old Taiwanese struggled in her service games throughout, being broken nine times and serving eight double faults, while managing to break Zhang only five times. The result was a reversal of the result in last year’s tournament, when Chang downed the 22-year-old from Tianjin in straight sets. Chang, who had hoped to become a permanent fixture inside the top 100 after being ranked as high as 82 last year, has had a disappointing start to the year, losing all four of her singles matches.
SOCCER
Lille stay top in France
Lille maintained a tenuous grip on the Ligue 1 top spot on Sunday after being held 1-1 by Lyon. Lille are just ahead of Rennes on goal difference, both having 46 points from 25 games. Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain showed they are very much in the running by winning their games and just four points separate the top five teams. Lille got off to a quickfire start when striker Moussa Sow opened the scoring after nine minutes, but Lyon midfielder Kim Kallstrom grabbed the equalizer after 26 minutes. Lyon dropped one place to fifth, four points behind the leaders. Marseille owed their 2-1 success to a double from midfielder Andre Ayew as they were pushed hard by Nancy who opened the scoring after 32 minutes following a superb solo effort from Julien Feret. Ayew equalized just before the break and netted the winner four minutes from time to ensure the visitors stay third, a point behind Lille and Rennes. PSG, meanwhile, were helped by errors from Toulouse as the side from the capital won 2-1 to sit fourth.
HOCKEY
Seabrook agrees deal
Key defenseman Brent Seabrook has agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Chicago Blackhawks, the defending Stanley Cup champions said on Sunday. Financial terms were not announced, but local media reported the deal was worth US$29 million. The agreement enables Chicago to keep Seabrook under contract through 2014. “Brent is a very important member of our organization and we are looking forward to him being part of a core group that will be a contender for many years to come,” Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement. Seabrook, a member of the Blackhawks for his entire six-season NHL career, has four goals and a career-high 29 assists this season.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but