SOCCER
Chen booked, Gent go top
Taiwan international Javier Chen’s KV Mechelen were knocked off the top of the Belgian Jupiler League on Saturday after a goalless draw at champions KRC Genk. Chen was shown the yellow card in the 22nd minute, before Mechelen returned from the Cristal Arena with a hard-earned point against a Genk side drawn against Chelsea, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Valencia in the Champions League on Thursday. Top spot in the league was filled by KAA Gent, who beat Lierse SK 1-0 thanks to Cesar Arzo’s 39th-minute goal. That was enough to lift them above Cercle Brugge KSV, 3-1 winners on the road at bottom-of-the-league KVC Westerlo, and Mechelen on goal-difference.
BASEBALL
Taiwan edged by Cuba
Taiwan came up short against Cuba in a 7-4 loss at the International Baseball Federation’s Under-16 Baseball World Championship in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on Saturday. The defeat lowered Taiwan’s record to 3-3 and whether they will play in the third-place consolation game was to be determined by the outcome of a game between Mexico and the Netherlands, which was postponed a day. Taiwan opened the scoring with a run in the first, but Cuba, who play in the final against the US, answered in the second. The two teams continued to trade runs, taking a 4-4 tie into the seventh, when Jorge Martinez hit a two-run single to put Cuba ahead for good.
TENNIS
Lisicki wins Texas Open
Wimbledon semi-finalist Sabine Lisicki of Germany captured the inaugural WTA Texas Open in Dallas on Saturday with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over French qualifier Aravane Rezai in the championship match. The hardcourt event was a tuneup for the US Open, which is scheduled to begin today in New York. Lisicki, the fifth seed who is ranked 23rd in the world, rolled through the tournament without losing a set. Rezai, ranked 116th in the world, had split two prior meetings with Lisicki, but could win only six points off the German’s serve in the 49-minute match, never managing to force a break point against the champion. Big-serving Lisicki became only the second wildcard in Wimbledon history to reach the semi-finals, where she lost to Russian Maria Sharapova in June.
BOXING
Povetkin claims WBA belt
Russia’s Alexander Povetkin won the vacant WBA heavyweight title in Erfurt, Germany, on Saturday with a points victory over Uzbek Ruslan Chagaev. The three judges came down in favor of Povetkin with 117-113 on two cards and 116-112 on the third as the 2004 Olympic champion took the title left vacant when Ukraine’s Wladimir Klitschko was promoted to super champion status. Povetkin, unbeaten from 22 fights with 15 knockouts, now has the chance to take on the undisputed champion Klitschko, who earned a unanimous decision over Britain’s David Haye last month to add Haye’s WBA belt to his IBF and WBO crowns. The 31-year-old Russian marked points at the beginning of the fight with his speed and agility along with fast combinations to the face and body. Chagaev, nicknamed the “White Tyson,” went for the knockout blow and landed some big left hand jabs in the sixth and seventh rounds, before his rival regained the initiative. For 32-year-old Chagaev, who has 17 knockouts from 27 victories, it was his second defeat after falling to Klitschko in 2009.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set