BASKETBALL
Taiwan beaten into silver
Nnemkadi Ogwumike of Stanford scored 24 points, while Elena Delle Donne of Delaware added 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to lead the US to a 101-66 rout of Taiwan in the gold medal game at the World University Games in Shenzhen, China, on Sunday. Skylar Diggins of Notre Dame had 19 points and six assists for the US (6-0). Taiwan hung with the US team through the first quarter, trailing by eight, and then cut the deficit to 31-25, before the US scored the next nine points. The US led by 17 at the half and cruised the rest of the way. Chen Yu-chen scored 21 points to lead Taiwan, who earned the silver medal.
BADMINTON
Cheng strikes gold in China
World No. 8 women’s badminton player Cheng Shao-chieh defeated her compatriot Pai Hsiao-ma yesterday to clinch Taiwan’s sixth gold medal at the Universiade in Shenzhen, China. Cheng won the match 21-18, 21-15. Cheng and Pai also advanced to the final in the women’s doubles, which they later lost to their South Korean rivals. Mixed doubles duo Li Sheng-mu and Hsieh Pei-Chen also lost to South Korean players, resulting in silver medals for the pair. Meanwhile, Li and Fang Chieh-min failed to defend their title against Thailand and finished with silver in the men’s doubles. Taiwan’s team set a new record, garnering one gold, four silvers and four bronzes.
SOCCER
Chelsea agree deal for Mata
Valencia have reached an agreement to sell their 23-year-old winger Juan Mata to English Premier League giants Chelsea, the Spanish club said Sunday. The deal is subject to a medical, the club added in a statement posted on its Web site. The club gave no financial details, but Spanish media said the deal was for about 27 million euros (US$39 million). Mata has long been tipped to leave Valencia, but Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were thought to be his main pursuers. Mata joined Valencia from Real Madrid in 2007 and has emerged as one of their most important players.
SOCCER
Milan gain revenge on Juve
AC Milan gained swift revenge on Juventus with a 2-1 victory at the San Siro on Sunday to win the pre-season Berlusconi Cup, sponsored by the Rossoneri’s president, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in memory of his father Luigi. Just three days after having lost to their Turin opponents by the same score in a 45-minute match in the three-way TIM Cup — which Inter won, with their neighbors finishing last — Milan turned the tables, despite missing several stars. Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng and veteran Dutchman Clarence Seedorf gave Milan a two-goal lead at the break, before Mirko Vucinic pulled one back in the second period.
SOCCER
Ajax drop their first points
Champions Ajax dropped their first points of season after being held to 2-2 draw by VVV Venlo in the Dutch league on Sunday. Ahmed Musa put hosts VVV ahead early in the second half, netting from close range after good work by fellow Nigerian Michael Uchebo, before adding a second on the hour. Skipper Theo Janssen pulled one back for a lackluster Ajax after 68 minutes with a well-placed long drive and two minutes later Kolbeinn Sightorsson grabbed the equalizer. Twente Enschede are top of the table with maximum points after three matches following their 5-1 thrashing of Heerenveen on Saturday. Ajax, Feyenoord and Vitesse Arnhem follow on seven points.
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