BASKETBALL
Under-19s go to Chile
The Chinese Taipei women’s basketball team left for Chile yesterday to compete in the FIBA U19 World Championship, where they will challenge their first opponent, Slovakia, on Thursday next week. The Under-19 World Championships for women will be held in Chile from July 21 to July 31. Taiwan are in Group D in the preliminary round along with Brazil, Slovakia and Spain. The Taiwanese team face Slovakia on July 21, Spain on July 22 and Brazil on July 23.
BASEBALL
Wang Chien-ming delayed
Washington Nationals pitcher Wang Chien-ming’s fourth minor league rehabilitation start on Wednesday was postponed because of rainy weather in Woodbridge, Virginia. The right-hander from Taiwan was scheduled to start for the Single-A Potomac Nationals against the Kinston Indians as part of his recovery from surgery on his right shoulder in July 2009. He was to make his fourth rehab outing yesterday for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators, MASN Sports reported.
SOCCER
Liverpool close on Downing
Liverpool moved closer to signing England winger Stewart Downing from Aston Villa after the two Premier League clubs agreed a fee late on Wednesday. Former Middlesbrough favorite Downing, 26, has been a long-term target for the Reds and talks can now begin with the player. Villa had rejected bids of £12 million (US$19.3 million) and £15 million from Liverpool and manager Alex McLeish said he wanted Downing to stay in the Midlands. However, Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner said on Wednesday: “I can confirm that we have reached an agreement with Liverpool following an improved offer received earlier today [Wednesday] and the submission of a formal transfer request by Stewart Downing.” Villa have already lost one winger in Ashley Young, signed by Premier League champions Manchester United, and could find themselves on the lookout for another if Downing moves to Anfield. Liverpool’s latest offer, which has not been disclosed by either club, for Downing is understood to be worth £20 million.
CRICKET
Ireland computers stolen
Officials at Cricket Ireland are offering a shirt signed by their World Cup squad as a reward to anyone who can help them recover three stolen laptop computers and two hard drives. The equipment, which belonged to assistant coach and video analyst Pete Johnston, went missing after Ireland’s match against Namibia at the Stormont ground in Belfast last week. It contains what Johnston said was “irreplaceable” match footage and tactical information intended to help Ireland, who suffered a shock defeat by Scotland in Edinburgh on Tuesday, prepare for future fixtures.
MOTOR RACING
Red Bull to re-sign Webber
Australian Mark Webber will re-sign for Formula One champions Red Bull, team owner Dietrich Mateschitz was quoted as saying on Wednesday. The Austrian energy drink billionaire told autosport.com that there were no doubts about the 34-year-old despite the driver ignoring team orders at last weekend’s British Grand Prix. “Mark Webber will re-sign with us,” Mateschitz said. “This will happen for sure. He is very popular within the team, he feels very comfortable and it is an excellent relationship. He knows this and we know it.”
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
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
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier