Taiwan’s tennis players had a mixed performance yesterday at the Guangzhou International Women’s Open in China, as all those in the singles category were eliminated, while those in the doubles competition fared slightly better. Meanwhile, all the top-seeded players advanced to the next round.
Chan Yung-jan went down in defeat to Poland’s Urszula Radwanska 6-2, 2-6, 2-6, while seventh seed Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa beat unseeded Hsieh Su-wei 3-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-1.
Top seed Maria Kirilenko of Russia easily handled Iryna Bremond of France 6-3, 6-1 and Australia’s No. 2 seed Jarmila Gajdosova defeated Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
In doubles play, Chan and fellow Taiwanese Chan Hao-ching won 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) in their quarter-final match against Gajdosova and Anastasia Rodionova, also of Australia. The two Chans, who are the top seeds, will face the third-seeded pair of Taiwan’s Chan Chin-wei and Han Xinyun of China, who last night defeated Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan and Jill Craybas of the US 7-5, 6-4.
The first-round doubles match of Bremond and Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-hsin versus Alberta Brianti of Italy and Croatia’s Petra Martic ended in victory for the European pair, who won 7-5, 7-5.
The quarter-final match featuring Hsieh and partner Zheng Saisai of China versus Indonesia’s Yayuk Basuki and Lu Jingjing was in progress as of press time.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and